


White Wings

by Firanna



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Ereri endgame, F/M, Levi's POV, M/M, Main Pairings for this POV will be Levi/Eren and Levi/Erwin, Nephilim, RP Turned Fic, Slow Build, Wing Kink, multi chapter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-15
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-25 10:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 65,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2618813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firanna/pseuds/Firanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"Another one?" Grey eyes held Erwin’s amused stare with a begrudging look. "You know how much I detest babysitting duty, Erwin."</i><br/>"I was hoping he'd be permanent..."</p><p>Death isn’t death when you’re a nephilim, tasked to spend an afterlife protecting humankind from any form of demonic influence. Unfortunately for Levi and his new partner, the angel’s war is one that is not meant to be won, and that is a fact that has consequences which reach further than either of them know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be updating this weekly!
> 
> A few notes about both fics:  
> http://firanna.tumblr.com/post/115354637137/fic-wings
> 
>  _White Wings is strictly in Levi's POV!_  
>  For Eren's, head on over to my co-author, MystiTrinqua for her side of the fic here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2618855/chapters/5840063 :)
> 
>  
> 
> THIS IS THE ONLY PART THERE WILL BE AN OC IN THIS FIC. It was needed.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.  
> \- Fira

                                                                                                Chapter 1

 

“Just breathe, Ophie, just breathe.” His hand was currently being crushed as he raced alongside the hospital gurney as the blonde haired woman was trying to do as he requested.  
  
“Levi, it hurts.”  
  
“They’ll take care of it, baby, I promise.”  
  
By all rights, it was a miracle they’d been able to get here in time. They’d both been terrified of her delivering at home, given the rate at which Mothers died to natural births. Levi hadn’t wanted to take that chance in the slightest. It was only because of the fact of his rank in the military that he’d even been able to get the room at the local hospital Up until Levi told his commanding officer about his wife’s fears, they’d been expecting to have the delivery at home, even though neither one of them had wanted that. Thankfully, they had prepared for it anyways. Just in case they needed it as a last resort.  
  
“Corporal Rivaille, you need to let go for now.”  
  
“I’m coming in.” He refused to let go of his wife’s hand.  
  
“I am not objecting to that, but there isn’t space leading up to the delivery room.” He hesitated and listened to the doctor’s words, letting go, having to stop and move aside to let them rush past him.  
  
The doctor was right, however, the corridor not being enough for himself and the others to be around the bed. She needed medical care over his reassurance right now. He knew she was going to be alright. They both did.

“Levi!!” His name was shouted the second he entered the delivery room accepting the gown he was handed, pulling it on hastily as he went over to his wife on the bed. “I’m scared.”  
  
“Don’t be, you’re fine. I’m not leaving you.” Their hands were joined again, the grip like a vice and it actually made him wince slightly as she gripped with all her might.  
  
If anyone told him, and countless people had, that childbirth was beautiful and natural, he’d tell them they were crazy.  
The only part that was worth the thirteen hour process, was his child at the end. The second he laid eyes on her, she became the centre of his whole world. Seeing his tiny and fragile daughter, in the arms of his best friend in the entire world, was a moment that money just couldn’t buy.  
But she was taken away from them as quickly as she’d been given in to Ophelia’s arms.  
  
“Wait? Where are you taking her?”  
  
“We are just going to get her cleaned up, you can have her back soon, I promise.” The nurse was nice enough, full of smiles and affection for the pair of them.  
  
“Be… Be careful with her…”  
  
“She’s not my first newborn, Corporal.”  
  
“Baby…” He looked around to his exhausted partner, who was looking towards him dreamily. “She is perfect. She looks so like you already…”  
  
“Then she’s screwed, unless she suddenly gets your stunning looks.” She laughed weakly and Levi offered a small smile, his grip on her hand staying tight. “She’ll be back, alright?” Ophelia nodded weakly, clearly far too tired to keep up as Levi spoke to her.  
  
“Sir? We are going to take her to her room now.” Levi nodded, leaning forwards to kiss Ophelia on the forehead gently, a hand touching his cheek seconds before she lost consciousness.

* * *

An hour later, he was sitting be Ophelia’s side, stressing over their daughter. They’d not been allowed to see her and the staff had not brought her back to them yet. He was starting to miss her to the point it was stupid. He’d seen her for only a brief few seconds and every one after that had been agony of not being able to be with her.

  
Ophelia was still unconscious, and in a half stable condition. Apparently the stress of childbirth on her body had been too great, and it was currently trying to repair itself.  
  
“Corporal Rivaille?” He looked up from here he was looking to their joined hands, both of his own having captured his wife’s. The first thing he saw was a startlingly fluffy pink blanket.  
  
“I’ll return you to your daddy now, honey bunch.” As the nurse spoke to the baby, he carefully let go of Ophelia’s hand and moved towards her, hesitating as he got there not knowing how the hell to even hold her correctly. “It’s the easiest thing, I promise.” The nurse handed her over and he was surprised at how easy it was, cradling her within his arms. It was the best feeling in the world and he was stunned. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be back for her later.” Levi couldn’t even respond, feeling so proud and elated that he thought he was going to fly away.  
People like him didn’t get this chance. Not ever. It was rare and he felt so privileged.  
  
“Levi...?” He looked up as he heard the soft voice of his wife calling out to him. She was watching him with a tired gaze.  
“Hey… honey…” He walked over to his wife carefully, moving to her side and even more carefully sitting down next to her on the edge of the bed. He smiled, and then handed the baby over to his wife slowly, helping Ophelia to hold their daughter in her weak arms carefully.

  
It was then that the tears started to fall and he scooted closer to place his arms around her, pulling her into him as she cried.  
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
“I’m just… I’m just so happy… they’re happy tears.”  
  
“They better be.” His voice was low, carefully and soft as he looked down towards them both, “what are you going to call her?”  
  
“I want you to name her.”  
  
“No. I can’t. It’s not my right, Ophie.”  
  
“Without you… she wouldn’t be here…” He looked down at her, brushing her hair out of her face gently as she spoke softly.  
  
“You’ve helped me so much, we should pick together.”  
  
“Levi, we’ve helped each other… If we hadn’t got married, it could have turned out worse for the both of us. Just, please… this is my one wish…” He hesitated for a few moments, before nodding, resigning to the fact he wasn’t going to win this.  
  
“Fine, ok, I’ll name her… but… it might take me a while, I want it to be perfect.” Ophelia laughed slightly, resting her head back against his shoulder.  
  
“Anything you pick will be beautiful.”  
  
They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, just being with each other and their newborn daughter made them both feel happy and content. The entire time, Levi was going through names in his head, testing them out mentally until he found ones that he liked. He would then test them all out by saying them out loud, and then reject the ones that he didn’t like by shaking his head and saying, “that’s not her.”

After a while, Ophelia couldn’t hold back her laughter. She handed their child back to Levi because she was too tired to keep on holding her.  
“If you keep on saying random names, you are going to confuse her.”

“Sorry, baby girl, I’ll find you a good name. I promise.” He moved back to the chair he’d originally been sitting in, holding the baby close to his chest as Ophelia looked on with tears in her eyes and warmth in her heart.

  
“Levi… I’m… I feel tired.”

  
“Don’t push yourself, sleep if you need it. If you need anything else, let me know and I’ll get it for you.” She nodded before falling asleep. The last thing she saw was her husband, fussing over their daughter nestled safe and sound in his arms.

* * *

Three days later they still hadn’t been released. 

Ophelia had developed an infection, and that coupled with a heart issue they’d found while checking her over post pregnancy, had resulted in her falling ill.  
It wasn’t looking good, and the only bright side was that their child was doing extremely well. She was healthy and safe; the cutest bundle of joy they’d both ever seen. She was now in Ophelia’s room because Levi insisted on her being there as much as possible. He wanted as many _family_ moments as they could get, just the three of them.  
  
They’d both resigned to the fact that Ophelia didn’t have long left, even if he still didn’t want that to happen. There wasn’t anything much more the doctors could do for her other than make her comfortable. And it wasn’t until late that afternoon, that Levi made any positive contributions other than the clear observations.  
  
“Lucina.” Levi stated rather matter of factly.

  
“What?” Ophelia asked, not sure what her husband referring too.

  
“Her name.”

  
“You decided?”

  
“Yeah. I think Lucina suits her.” He looked at the baby girl in her mother’s arms lovingly.

“Lucina Ophelia Rivaille.” Levi said the full name out loud.

  
“Levi…”

  
“And before you object, she’s already got my surname. So, let her keep your name, please.”

  
“That’s not what I was going to say.” She chuckles softly. “I was going to say that it’s perfect…” Levi was the pinnacle of a proud father in that moment, and then it all seemed to take a turn for the worse.  
“Baby Lucy…” Ophelia said to her daughter, lovingly.  
  
Everything happened in slow motion as Ophelia’s arms began to become slack. Levi’s were around the small child quickly, holding her safe and steady, the blondes face became still as her eyes closed.  
  
 “NURSE!” His voice made Lucina begin to cry as he screamed for help. Clutching the child to his chest as he backed way, giving the doctors and nursing staff room to move and do what they did best.  
  
**_Save lives._**  
  
“Corporal, you need to leave.” Someone instructed him. He didn’t need anyone telling him twice, so he hurried out of the room and went down the hallway. He could still see the door from where he stood, but he was far enough so that he couldn’t hear what they were saying or doing inside his wife’s room. He focused on getting Lucina to calm down and stop crying. His attention was still on the room, completely on Ophelia as he rocked the baby close to his chest.  
  
He could barely breathe, he could barely **_think_**. He didn’t want to hear the commotion happening in Ophelia’s room as he scrunched his eyes closed, Lucina had begun to calm down, and had already stopped her crying. She was resting quietly within the strong arms of her father. She had no idea what was happening, and he envied her completely in that moment. His grey eyes met Lucina’s own bright watery grey slowly.  
All of a sudden, silence filled his hearing, and he heard nothing. Coldness washed over him.  
Silence wasn’t a comfort. It never was, and never had been.  
  
“She’s… She’ll be fine, baby girl, I know she will... She’s a fighter…” He’d believe the words with his own dying breath. He refused to admit that she’d held on long enough just to hear her name. He couldn’t do this alone. She wasn’t allowed to leave him. He couldn’t lose his best friend.  
  
“Corporal…” He looked up from Lucina’s face, tears having made tracks down his face without his knowledge, eyes shining with those that had yet to fall. “I am so, _so_ sorry. There was nothing that we could do.” He had no words. None at all. His brain was turned off, and nothing was being sent to his body to tell him to move, to tell him to take care of the child in his arms.  
  
Levi felt a person next to him, prompting him to look as they took hold of his daughter; grey eyes watching the nurse hold Lucina carefully as she looked towards him. “We’ll take care of her. We’ll give you time, sir.” He looked past the nurse to his wife’s room.  
If he went in there, if he looked upon the room, it would solidify the fact that what they were telling him was true.  
  
His body slowly made him stand. His brain protesting as his feet carried him forwards. His body was like ice; it didn’t feel like his own. It felt more like someone else was controlling his body, making him face the sheer reality that his best friend was no gone…  
  
His hands skimmed the doorframe; seeing how the body was barely covered from their attempts to revive her. She was stunning even in death, the female lain out on the bed as if she were sleeping. His body moved against his will, his hands pulling the cover over her form and covering her to the shoulders, moving her hands with careful precision so that they rested over the blanket. He was slow to sit by her side, holding her warm hand within his own two, clutching it.  
She could definitely be sleeping.  
The tears fell poured out of him like a dam breaking, he couldn’t control them, and he definitely couldn’t stop them. More importantly, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to stop anything right now. He just wanted her back. The woman that had been his light, within so much dark.  
  
They’d been each other shields, a way for them both to exist without the watchful eye of a society that was all too quick to burn someone at the stake. Them getting together, getting engaged, getting married having a _child_ , was all part of the disguise that they’d put in place to shield themselves from the harm that would befall them otherwise. Somewhere along the way the feelings had developed, not quite love, but a deep seeded affection neither of them wanted to deny.  
  
 “You…” his voice cut short, watery eyes on Ophelia’s face. “You… you can’t leave me… You can’t… I can’t cope without you. You’re… You’re my best friend, Ophie… How am I going to raise her without you? She needs you. **_I need you_**.” He felt like he should be angry that she’d left him, but all that filled him was sadness and despair. His hands reached out to clutch the woman’s left like it was his tether to Earth. “I can’t do this without you. I don’t know how to **_live_** without you. They’ll… They’ll.”  
  
If anyone were to find out the truth… he’d lose his rank, his job, and their daughter. They’d take her away without a second thought, without even a second glance. Maybe they’d shoot him in the back while they were at it, put him out of the misery of losing not only his best friend, but his life and his daughter to boot…  
  
Even if she was born from a confusing situation, a rouse to keep up the mask of that perfect happy couple ready to start a family, he still felt such love and affection for her already. It was as if that tiny baby had replaced the gravity holding him to the floor, like she was the only thing that mattered now. And she was. There was nothing more important than her right now, and his eyes lifted, lifted to look at Ophelia’s face, his body moving to stand.  
  
“I will do my best, and hope that my best will be good enough to keep her safe.” His right hand remained clutched around Opehlia’s, his left hand lifting to push soft strands from the woman’s forehead. He leant down to kiss her forehead, eyes closed, hovering there as he tried to steady his breathing. “I will never forget you. You will never be forgotten. I promise. I won’t… I’ll never leave her. Not now, not ever.” He dropped one more kiss to her forehead, before letting go of her hand and stepping back, grey eyes darting over the lifeless body of someone he’d been with for six years.  
  
The best six years of his life…

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally cracking on!!
> 
> Thanks to those that have read and kudos'ed so far, it means a lot :)
> 
> You can find me at http://firanna.tumblr.com/ :D!!!
> 
> Enjoy!

  _4 Years Later._  
  
His eyes opened slowly, blinking against the light of the room. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn’t alone. He was, however, the first to regain consciousness.  
“Oooh, the cute one's awake!” He flinched slightly at the sound of the happy, excited voice that met his ears, a ringing having begun to accompany it.  
“Now now, Lieutenant, don’t scare him. These are a good pick.” He pushed himself up in to a sitting position, his actions slow and sluggish, crossing his legs as his head swam. He vaguely picked out the outline of Petra close by, and that pulled him out of everything. He scooted over, quick to bend down to make sure she was alright. His body moved quicker than it rightly should have to get him into a kneeling position next to her, but he didn’t notice that straight away. Pulling her to him, she rested between his open legs, her back against one of his thighs. He cradled her head in his right hand, his left arm around the woman’s shoulders to support her, her face somewhat bloodied from the head wound she’d just sustained.  
“She’s fine, honestly.” He looked up, finally taking in the other people in the room. His eyes landed on Gunther next, seeing him unconscious and rather bloodied, along with Oluo next to him. Eld wasn’t far away either, stirring somewhere just behind him. “You’re safe here.” The words prompted him to look up, seeing a man and woman, before a small group of others, a sudden hush descending over them as his team started showing signs of life.  
  
“Here? Where the hell is _here?”_ The first thought that popped in to his head was that they’d been captured, but this room didn’t seem like an enemy base on the battlefield. The walls were bare concrete and metal, covered in odd symbols, but something about them seemed to suggest to his intuition that they weren’t built to confine. Just to temporarily contain.  
“A stop along the way…”  
“The way to where?” No point beating around this issue. By all rights his brain was telling them that if they weren’t dead, captured was the next logical conclusion.  
“Do you remember where you were?”  
“On a battlefield…”  
“Yes.” It was the woman who spoke directly to him now, a broad smile upon her face. “We’re your second chance.”  
  
“Should you care to accept.” The man’s voice drew his attention, steel grey eyes looked from head to toe and back up. Clearly this was a man of authority. The thought made his jaw tighten. He felt the warm weight in his arms begin to stir, a quiet groan escaping her lips. He instantly looked down, affection held within his glance, unlike the disdain from a moment ago.  
  
“S-Sir…”  
“Shhh, I’ve got you, Petra.”  
“What… what happened…?” She tried to move, he held her still to try and keep her from overexerting herself.  
“I failed all of you, that’s what happened.”  
“No, you didn’t… we’re… we’re alive, aren’t we?”  
“I’m not so sure.”  
  
The room fell silent, Petra quietly reprimanding him, wanting to sit up on her own. She wasn’t able to, and Levi smirked at the action giving a small ‘I told you so,’ letting her continue to lean against his bent leg.  
  
It wasn’t long before the others woke, groggy and confused and looking straight at Levi for orders, since they clearly weren’t captured and the doors weren’t guarded, giving the impression they were free to leave at any time.  
“Now you’re all awake, allow me to introduce my team and I. My name is Erwin Smith, I’m the Commander of this Corps.”  
“Corps?” Levi was about to ask the same one worded question, Eld beating him to it.  
  
“The formalities aren’t really necessary at this time. This is my Science Officer, Lieutenant Hanji Zoë. She is also currently in charge of recruitment. The people in the room you see, excluding yourselves, are part of her team.”  
  
“Recruitment? For what?”  
  
“To join my division. I’ve been quite looking forward to this day, Mr. Rivaille. You and your team have been on my watch list for some time, and while I wished for better circumstances for you to appear in this room, I must admit, it was a thrill to watch you fight in real time.” A small smile cracked onto those lips, Levi’s own pulling into a flat line match the frown across his face.  
“You’ve been watching us?”  
“You and your various other incarnations, yes.” Confusion rippled through the room, “but only ever in your reality have you all been together, fighting together in perfect harmony, _and_ fit the circumstances we needed.”  
“Incarnations? _Our_ reality?” Levi voiced the confusion of his team, none of it making sense. All of them had moved a touch closer to each other during the course of Erwin’s words and none of them convinced they were safe. They’d just been on a _battlefield_ , for god’s sake.  
  
“Ah, forgive me.” Erwin seemed to realise he’d totally lost them, turning to the cheery, bespectacled woman at his side. “Hanji, if you please.”  
  
“Sure,” she stepped forwards a few steps, though keeping the safe distance between them all so as not to make them feel threatened. “Basically, there’s like, this infinite number of realities. And whenever someone dies a certain way they get sent to us. Or at least your souls did, in your case, since your bodies are still on the battlefield, still amidst the war that’s raging on your particular Earth.” Her speech was quick, and Levi actually struggled to keep up, and it seemed everyone had the same trouble bar Petra, as she responded first.  
“So, we’re dead right now?”  
“Yeah… Sorry about that. You fought valiantly though! Honestly it was _the best_ fight I’ve ever watched and I’ve watched a fair few in my time, let me tell you!” This woman was far too enthusiastic for his liking. “I wish my Commander had been half as good as you, Levi. I mean.. Rivaille.”  
“Neither of those. I’m a military man, Corporal will do fine.” Hanji laughed, covering her mouth in a rather cute fashion,  
“My apologies, _Corporal_.” She gave a small salute as she winked at him. Ok, so perhaps she was growing on him a little.  
  
“What did you mean by second chance?”  
He looked to his right slightly as Gunther spoke, confusion colouring his voice.  
“If you accept, you get a second chance at life. Your souls will become your new body, and you get a few nice perks along with the job.”  
“Perks?” Levi raised an eyebrow in slight intrigue, watching Hanji smile, though the look had soon vanished again as the five of them witnessed something that shouldn’t have happened. That couldn’t be real.  
  
A pair of auburn, feathered wings had erupted from Hanji’s back, Erwin soon following her example. He was amazed, the golden toned appendages from the man’s back were a work of art. Hanji’s were the same fashion, the feathers glossy and glimmering as they stretched and fanned out behind her.  
“I assure you, they’re real.” She winked in their direction, all of them mesmerised.  
“We… we get… _wings?”_  
“You will become nephilim. An angelic-human hybrid. A most efficient form of soldier in a war against a demonic force called ‘Legion’, who are bent on destroying the angels, who we exist to protect. Alongside humans, of course.”  
“And you can just, make this happen?” Erwin nodded to Levi’s question, going on as if he hadn’t spoken.  
“You will be given the abilities and power gradually over time. It will take around a year for you to be fully in tune with the new status that will be given to you. The wings will be the first. Some take to them quicker than others. I imagine all of you will get them within a matter of days and the transformation will be complete.”  
  
“Do you expect us to accept this offer right now?”  
  
“No, you’ll have the day to decide.” He gestured to the other Nephilim in the room, motioning them to leave. “If you have any questions, please, feel free to call one of us and we will be happy to answer them to the best of our ability.” They started to file out the room there, Erwin hesitating it the large doorway. “Just know that if you don’t accept the offer, you will be returned to the state in which you were collected. Your soul will be returned to your bodies and fate will run its course from there.” The blond left after that small revelation, the doors being kept open, no one outside it to keep them within the room  
  
There was silence throughout the room. All five of them were within their own thoughts, thinking over the proposal they'd just received. Petra moved from within his arms, rubbing the side of her head as she shook it, sitting next to him unsupported and staring towards the door. Levi, however, stood and stretched. He had to admit, this was the best he'd felt in years, even if he didn't want to believe that they were currently dead and they'd just been offered near immortality.  
  
"How can we not accept this offer?" Levi looked towards Eld as he spoke up, sitting next to Gunther who was looking pensive. "If we don't, we're dead on that battlefield."  
"There's no proof of that."  
  
"Levi," he looked towards Petra, who looked on the verge of tears. "Look at yourself. Look at us." She gestured to her head, to the dried blood down her face. "Let’s face it, we've all got the wounds to prove it. If they've been watching us like they say, then we can assume that this _is_ real." Levi's hands went to his stomach, he didn't have the wound that he knew should be a sword through his abdomen, but he could feel the blood underneath his uniform.  
"So what? We get massacred and then get beamed up here? Why isn't the whole garrison up here?"  
"Thought that might come up..." All eyes looked towards the door, where Hanji was stood leaning against the frame. "Not everyone has this chance. By all rights, you and your squad shouldn't either." Levi frowned as Hanji gestured to indicate asking if she could come in. Levi nodded and watched her enter, walking towards where Erwin had been previously sat.  
"So talk. Gonna need a few more details before anything’s set in stone." Levi moved backwards as he spoke, going to lean against the wall and folding his arms across his chest.  
"What would you like to know first?"  
"Where are we?"  
"A stop along the way."  
"To where?”  
"The next life." Levi fell silent there, crossing his ankles in front of him, looking to Eld who nodded.  
  
"When you said people die a certain way...?" Hanji smiled slightly, nodding herself.  
"Normally, we don't take normal deaths. Your deaths are considered normal. The ones we deal with... well that would be a little more on the supernatural side of things. It is the main reason it will take a while for your abilities, should you accept, to come in fully." She was met with obvious confusion and she laughed quietly. "That is to say, the supernatural element is normally due to demonic activity. It readies the soul for the fight ahead. Unfortunately, you guys weren't involved in that, though I suppose that gives you an edge where others don't have it."  
  
"How is that an edge?" Levi frowned towards her, the bespectacled woman smiling in response.  
“You don't have the anger. Most that join our cause are fuelled by the notion that they were killed due to means that couldn't be controlled by them, that were unfair because they were superhuman and couldn’t be defended against. Yours weren’t like that, which was why Commander Smith was able to use a loop hole and exploit the system to bring you here. We saw the end of the war, your side was out matched and out gunned. There was no way bringing in your garrison was going to help. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you were never going to win. They were technologically further than they should have been. They had the means to win and they took it."  
"What does this have to do with an edge?"  
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." Hanji smiled at Petra as she answered. "It means you will be pure. I'm actually quite looking forwards to the results. You'll be the first set in what the Commander hopes are a line of people he can recruit."  
"Is death a part of this?" Levi looked to Oluo, seeing him finally speaking up. "Or are we immortal?" Hanji laughed at that, crossing her legs and leaning back in the chair.  
  
"Well, not quite. It's not easy to die in the slightest. Nephilim have increased regeneration. We can heal wounds incredibly quickly if they are inflicted by a demon. If not, they still heal, just at a slightly enhanced rate over a normal human’s capabilities. It means that it's very hard to die, unless the wound is something that the healing ability just can't handle. But that is incredibly rare, as we don't go out without at least one other person. But we have a special job, for you guys. Still, more on that later, if you accept.” Hanji paused, glancing away for a few moments with a small frown at getting off topic. “So getting back to it, no, not completely, but damn near as close as we can get you.” She smiled happily, clearly getting carried away while just being allowed to speak uninterrupted. "Would you like to know anything else?"  
"A lot, actually." The others looked towards their raven haired leader. "I don't want them splitting anyone up. You recruit us all, or them and not me."  
"Honey that will definitely not be our intention. We have certain plans that require teamwork." Hanji smiled softly, looking to them individually. "Is that a yes?" She seemed positively buzzing, it increasing as each one nodded their consent.  
  
"Looks like you just hit the jackpot, four eyes. Where do we sign?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me at Firanna on tumblr and i am gonna be following  
> fic: White Wings
> 
> Eren's POV: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2618855/chapters/5840063  
> Enjoy :)

"Another one?" Grey eyes looked from the paperwork he was begrudgingly having to complete, up at the body the voice belonged to, a deadpan stare holding an amused gaze.

"You know how much I detest babysitting duty, Erwin."

"I was hoping he'd be permanent..." The tall blond moved into the office and over to the desk, "you've got to learn to get along with people, Levi."

"I get along with people just fine." he replied, gaze dropping to the papers that were strewn in front of him. Erwin skirted around his desk to move behind him, his arms snaking out over his shoulders and around his front. He pulled him so that he was sat upright ~~with his~~ back straight. Breath ghosted over his ear, and it did its job of distracting from the typed words on the sheets well enough.

 

"You know I don't count right?”

"Does Hanji?"

"Two people out of a garrison, Lance Corporal, does not ‘get along’ make." Lips brushed against his temple and he exhaled slowly, wanting nothing more than to turn his head as his eyes slid closed.

"Maybe you shouldn't keep giving me children to hunt with, then. They don't know their heads from their asses half the time."

 

"That's the whole point, Levi." A hand detached from holding his shoulder and fingers gently turned his head to redirect his gaze upward at the male holding him, eyes locking. Their lips hovered dangerously close together. "I want my strongest training our future soldiers."

  
He frowned.

"Well your _‘strongest’_ hates doing it." He never had been able to get on with everyone dubbing him 'Heaven’s Strongest Soldier', he was doing his job like everyone else. Finally lips met his own, his eyes closing again along with Erwin's, a tongue teasing at his bottom lip almost instantly.

 

It wasn't unwelcome, Erwin doing this in the middle of the day. He was pretty sure that if the Commander of the whole Corps pressed you in to your chair in such a way, it was a free pass to take a break. Levi ended up turning himself in his chair so they had better angles all round to deepen the kiss.

 

"Always preferred it the other way round, if ya know what I mean." Hanji's voice didn't make them stop in the slightest, Erwin just slowing ~~it~~ down until the kiss reached its own conclusion a moment later. Levi's head rested back against the top of the backrest of his chair, having slid down a few inches in their heated activity. He tilted it to look at her, Erwin's hands not moving from the arm rests, fully intending to continue once she was gone. "Sugar you look so much better on top." She smirked as she looked at him, leaning against the doorframe.

 

"Do you ever knock?"

"When your door's wide open? Please." She winked, entering the room as she spoke, dropping a bag full of papers onto his desk. Great, more paperwork he didn't have anyone to pawn off on. "I need the angry little muffin, if you don't mind."

"What for? He's a little occupied right now." In all fairness, Levi would happily stay where he was over leaving.

"A medical he is long overdue for."

"I could do that for you..." A nose bumped at his jaw, making him stretch his neck, and the response was so quick and so damn cheesy he couldn't help but smirk.

"Come oooon, I'm on a schedule today. Deadlines deadlines!" Erwin reluctantly straightened up after a moment’s hesitation and stepped away from him so Levi could stand. He was thanking the stars he didn't have any issue with walking – it hadn’t gone far enough for that.

"Hanj, you _know_ I hate medicals..”

"Which is why it's overdue, hurry up.." He stood with a sigh, the blond catching him on his way pass for a fleeting kiss before letting him go to follow Hanji.

 

Another great free pass out of paperwork? The chief medical and science officer pulling you away from it. The woman was akin to his best friend. She'd always been there right from day one where she'd looked after him when his wings had come through in those first few nights. He'd been somewhat of a 'late bloomer' in regards to his wings, and Hanji had never let him live it down.

* * *

_Several years prior.  
  
_

_He was lain on his front, shivering and sweating, his back practically covered in blood. "Just a little more, try and slow it, Levi, slowly!"_

_"I can't fucking slow it." A scream passed his lips after he'd shouted the words, muffled only by the pillow that he was pressing against his face. Petra had passed out long before he had, and was lain out in a hospital bed across the room. Eld and the others had been the same, and given he was the last to get his wings, he'd seen all of his team go through the transformation. Why the hell wasn't he passing out?! Blood sprayed across the room with the force at which his wings finally spread out, Hanji's own wings shielding her quickly and drawing back slowly to see the blood soaked wings now spreading from Levi's back. She froze, looking at the colour as they shivered right along with the small, far paler than normal body they were attached to. "Fuck." The word was broken, and it pulled her from the mesmerising sight of the colour._

_"Levi, honey, how are you feeling?"_

_"Like I've been ripped to fucking shreds and thrown in to a wood chipper, how the fuck do you think, four eyes?" The words actually made her smile amidst all the trauma that had just occurred. Levi's humour obviously still shone through like a beacon._

_"We'll get this blood off you, the warm water should help with the pain. People are normally unconscious for this bit though."_

_"Lucky them..."_

* * *

 

They were soon in her office, the woman sorting through the ~~mass~~ 'organised mess' that was her desk. He leant against the doorframe, folding his arms as he watched her flit about, wondering what she was looking for. "Lost something four eyes?" Levi would never change, or the apocalypse would be nigh.

"My purse.”

"Why the hell do you need a purse for a medical?" Regardless, his eyes scanned the office, seeking out what he knew to be a long red and white zipped purse, or a 'clutch' as she'd called it once. He couldn't understand it, but maybe that was just a guy thing.

 

"I don't for medicals." She opened a draw and let out an exclamation of 'eureka!' as she held it up. "I need it because we are going to lunch! Work was the only thing he wasn't going to join us for." It wasn't that Hanji didn't like Erwin, on the contrary they got on like a house on fire, but... "I never see just you anymore." She headed past him, linking their fingers as she pulled him along.

"You sure know how to lay the guilt on, you know that right?"

"Expertly."

"We need to stop and get my wallet."

"You paid last time, it's my turn."

 

She didn't let go of his hand until they were outside, where she proceeded to link her arm with his own. Levi had become so used to her over the years, not much fazed him with her, nowadays. In fact, the only thing that fazed him was when she wasn't an excitable puppy, then he knew something was wrong for sure. "I hear you made another one cry today."

"If she cried then she definitely isn't good hunting with me."

 

It seemed that not only Erwin, but Hanji too, were currently making him a project, which wasn’t a surprise on her part. Hanji was a long-timer in experiments and projects of all varieties, but she was in a lull in her research right now and apparently the creative muses that be deemed him her stop gap. That meant he was forever getting assigned the new recruits in hopes of finding someone that would stick. He always managed to weed them out in some way or another, telling them quite clearly they weren't going to find anyone that he could hunt with. His luck would say they would, but when they did, they wouldn't be able to work with him. It'd be the cherry on the cake of the last decade or so.

 

It wasn't that he wasn't good at what he did, they'd not given him such a strong title amongst the recruits and soldiers for nothing. It was just no one was up to scratch. None of the people he got paired with were anywhere near that standard. Levi had pretty much taken to hunting with people to test them out.

Even when Levi went about training them to try and get them to the standard that they needed to be at, no one cut it in the slightest. And contrary to Erwin's belief he _did_ actually want someone to hunt with, he liked consistency, and not having a fixed hunting partner was definitely not consistent.

 

Before the disaster of the girl he honestly couldn't remember the name of, he'd hunted with a fair few new recruits. About half a year ago, Mikasa Ackerman was one of those recruits. She was the only one to last ~~it~~ for a whole month, bar Hanji, who he hunted with for almost 3 years in her extended break in medical assignments.

It wasn't that Mikasa was awful, she wasn't by far. She came from a background of blood and gore just like he had, but with rather different circumstances. He thought she'd done well to last just over a month, before their opinions differed and he just couldn't do it any longer.

 

He'd ended up assigning her to deep cover, which meant she would specialise in undercover missions first. Not many got assigned such a role within their first decade, but she and Annie Leonhardt had been obvious choices when he sat and thought about it. Annie had only lasted 4 days before he'd marched her to Erwin and told him what her new role should be.

 

Before he knew it, they were sitting down in a Chinese, Hanji ordering quickly, knowing what he'd have. "Nice to get lunch at lunchtime." It was currently twelve thirty pm, and not still working at this time was a rarity, at least for him.

"You work too much." He picked up the chopsticks that were out on the table, quick to snap them in two, idly playing with them as they spoke.

"Coming from the one that makes more work for himself by ditching everyone that's assigned to him."

"Then stop assigning _kids_ to me, because you know I can’t stand incompetence or bad attitudes and lately everyone you send has one or the other to a fault."

"I'm sure your exaggerating."

"Hanji... One of them asked me how to stop their gun falling out its holster. That’s day one of basic training stuff." She giggled in to her hand, looking towards him with an amused expression.

"Was this before or after a fight?"

"That's beyond the point." Thankfully it had been before. "She was gone within the hour.”

 

"Sasha wasn't bad."

"But moaned about food every god damn minute."

"You could have hunted with Connie some more."

"And he was a sarcastic little pain in the ass."

"Yes, because _you’ve_ never sassed someone before, Levi." She had a grin on her face as the waiter brought over their drinks. "We'll find you someone, I'm sure."

 

Their food arrived shortly after, both having fallen in to a comfortable silence. They dug right in to their meals the second they were able, both quite the experts with chopsticks.   
"How's the chicken?"

"Noodle-tastic." Levi said flatly as he fished in his large bowl for said piece of chicken. "Ramen is good any day of the week."

"Pretty sure you'd live on it if you could."

"Erwin wouldn't let that happen in the slightest and you know it."

 

"How are you two? I know you had a rough patch..." Hanji asked carefully.  
He sighed through his nose as he swallowed the mouthful of noodles.

"Seems like he's still drawing back from me. He's more interested in work than 'fun' time together."

"Didn't seem like that half an hour ago..."

"That's about all I get nowadays. Whenever we are together... I don't know, just feels like I'm more of a stress reliever than his love interest."

"Well, you know Erwin... He would marry the office if he could get away with it, no offence of course." Levi smirked.

"None taken. I don't expect anything like that.... just... fuck Hanj I don't do these kinds of conversations," 

"I know you don't, but you gotta at some point with someone and you're most comfortable with me so..." She smiled happily as she pulled a strip of pork out of her bowl with her chopsticks.

"Don't sell yourself short, really, you were on a roll there."

"Not me that’s short, hunny." He stopped in the action of pulling noodles from the bowl to his mouth, eyes flickering up to her from his food.

"Hey, at least I have 20/20 vision, four eyes." Hanji pouted cutely before looking away and back to her noodles.

 

They ate in relative silence for a short while, giving Levi chance to just enjoy the comfortableness that came with being with Hanji in general. Her happy demeanour and her ray of sunshine quality that always managed to make him feel better when he wasn't feeling 100%. She never failed to get him out of a bad mood, always knew the right things to say and the best time to say them. The best thing was, Hanji never allowed him much time to think, and for that he would always be intensely grateful. He hated thinking, it brought on thoughts he'd rather avoid.

 

"Armin is doing well, by the way." He glanced up from his spoon, from where he was now fishing for stray pieces of noodle and spring onions.

"Yeah?

"Definitely. He’s taken things by storm in the last month. He's got big plans now I've let him loose."

"Good. I knew he'd become some form of asset to you. That kid shouldn't be hunting unless absolutely necessary." Levi placed his spoon down carefully, slender fingers wrapping carefully around the bowls side, Hanji still fishing through her own with her spoon. "He knows everything technical, but putting it in to practise, no."

 

"Well I am glad that you placed him with me. I'm going to get him on with assignments next I think. They are rather shorthanded and he'd be able to do it while doing other things. He's quite the multitasker." A spoons full of noodle bits and spinach leaves vanished between her lips, Levi already having lifted the bowl to his face to drink the vegetable stock soup that was left over from his meal.

 

"I'm glad he could be of use somewhere. I really didn't want him in a position outside where he could get hurt. Even with me watching him there was a possibility, or I’d have ended up putting myself in harm’s way and I know how much you hate that." Hanji nodded her agreement as she ate more of the stray food swimming in her miso soup.

 

* * *

  


_A year later._  


 

Why the hell had he been called up to Erwin's office? Did he not realise that 'drop everything and get here' wasn't a way to get on his good side? He'd been seeing the Nephilim for about 5 years now and he still didn't know how to handle him at 9AM.

 

He'd been up most of the night due to Hanji's incessant midnight calls on new recruits that were 'just so scrummy', and he honestly hadn't been listening in the slightest. So he was tired and irritable, and he honestly just wanted to either go back to bed or drink his weight in coffee.

 

He'd not been with a hunting partner for just under two weeks. He had refused the last two because they were so fresh faced and innocent and didn't want to 'break them in' to the lifestyle. Someone else could have that job. So he'd managed to grab two weeks holiday time for himself, resting himself up thoroughly until the phone call at 8 this morning. Levi had still been asleep, taking advantage of the lie in that he rarely ever got to take. The shrill noise of his phone had needed to sound twice to get him to come out of the covers covering his bed and answer it. As much as he liked waking up to Erwin's voice, he preferred it under the covers next to him rather than on the phone.

 

Hands pushed the doors to HQ open, having landed in an alley just down the street. He took his time on heading to the top floor, clearing his head rather than just landing on the roof like he normally did. The flight over had only just woke him up, so now all he needed to do was try and clear the anger at being called in at such short notice for something Erwin wouldn't even tell him.

 

Levi jabbed the button for the elevator, looking around the first floor lobby and seeing everyone already hard at work. There was a lot of bustling about, half with wings showing, the other half, like himself, taking the time to hide them. He stepped in when it dinged its arrival, leaning against the wall opposite the door of the mirrored interior as grey eyes stared up at the digital count showing what floor they were heading past.

 

They were soon opening again, on to the top most floor where his and Erwin's offices were, along with a few others he rarely ever visited. "This better be important, Erwin." His words fell on wrong ears as he shoved the door open, Hanji being the only one in the office, riffling through Erwin's things on his desk.

 

"Levi, I'm glad you're here.

"He calls me in and he's not here?”

"Did someone not get some last night?" He gave her a look that clearly said 'don't test me' as he moved over towards her. He let himself slip on to the side of the desk, to watch her rummage. "He went to get you coffee. Look at this."

"Should you really be riffling through his desk?”

"You rifle through his pants, who are you to talk?" Regardless of the comments, he was looking at the papers she held out, crossing his legs as a knock at the door sounded through the room. Hanji called out for them to come in, Levi not missing the smile that she gained on her lips.

 

“Oh, sorry. Armin said the Commander asked for these? But he’s not here so…” He looked towards the origin of the voice and he stopped. His eyes wandered briefly over the young Nephilim that was now stood clutching a file that had clearly been intended for Erwin. “I guess I’ll come back later.”

 

Levi pushed himself back up so he was sitting straight and not back on to his hands. His eyes went from the teen to Erwin as he entered, shutting the door carefully behind him, while holding a tray of to go coffee cups.

 

"And I did. Thank you, Eren. That was just in time." He saw the look over the clearly flustered Nephilim to Hanji, and he could only imagine the look she was giving him in return. Grey eyes returned to who he now knew to be Eren. He vaguely remembered the name from when he'd hunted with Mikasa.

"Is that my coffee?" Erwin smiled further, his eyes on him as Levi looked towards him.

"Yes. Why are you so impatient?"

"Because after all these years, you still don't realise that you can't just call me at 8AM with mysterious requests."   
  
Erwin crossed the office and placed the tray down carefully.  Levi grabbed the one with his name on, twisting his body to do so, his harness pulling taut over his muscles. He looked as Erwin turned to look to Eren, standing more to the boy’s side. Little did Levi know that the move was intended to stop the fresh faced Nephilim from escaping the room.

 

"Thank you Eren, that was rather punctual. I wasn’t expecting you to beat me back here." Levi, being Levi, had already began to open the top folder, flipping through it leisurely. "Levi, that’s confidential." That didn't stop him, flipping another page rather pointedly with a slight upwards glance towards the tall blond. “You might want to stop reading, anyway, as you’re here to meet your new partner.” That stopped him looking at the file at least, letting go and looking up fully. “Mr Jaeger here will be hunting with you for the foreseeable future.”

 _"Excuse me?"_ He stopped mid turn, his voice ice as he looked up with a match gaze to Erwin, hearing Hanji giggle behind him. "The brat can't even look at me, you expect me to hunt with that as a base?"

 

"Ooh, a pet-name already?" Hanji honestly didn’t even look to be trying to hide the mirth within her voice, staring from the teen to his own rather unamused expression. He saw the blush get deeper across Eren’s cheeks as he looks towards him, as he spoke.

 

"With all due respect, Commander, I would hunt much better beside someone a little more on my level." Hanji’s laugh matched his own scoff as he crossed his arms across his chest, cup hanging from his fingers. His gaze was still on the teen, slowly looking him up and down and hoping to hell and back that he was starting to feel the most uncomfortable he had in his entire life.

"Leave." Eren's gaze locked with his own for a few moments. "Before you hurt yourself, tripping over your oh so mighty level."

"Play nice, Levi.” He frowned, turning away and looking towards Hanji, who was smiling like a Cheshire Cat. . “You’ve both got no say in this, the paperwork’s already done and Jean has a new partner of his own already. It’s happening.” He slid from Erwin’s desk, rounding it as he spoke, standing facing Hanji, side on to Eren and Erwin.

“Clearly Jaeger here considers me inferior, is there really any point? If he’s got such a better kill count then what have I got to teach him?” Hanji smacked him playfully on his arm, which were still folded against his chest.

 

“Eren, you don’t need to worry about hunting with him, this big softie’s all bark and no bite, honestly.” Levi leveled her with the most unimpressed expression he could muster. “Well… not _too_ much bite anyway.”

"I'm honoured to have the opportunity, but I shouldn't be hunting with him at all, Captain. "What I meant to say was, that he's better off with someone who can keep up with him. I’m too new.”

"Really? I'm right here, kid."

"Eren," Erwin ignored him completely, and he looked towards Hanji, who winked in his direction. “That is exactly what his role is right now. I’d much rather the new recruits be paired with the Lance Corporal and you haven’t been, yet. Levi can keep you safe and oversee your development, and given your recent performance, I think that you will most definitely be able to keep up with our resident grump over there.”

"Right here, Erwin. Right. Here."

"I know full well where you are, Rivaille." The change in his demeanour, the fact he'd changed from Levi, to Lance Corporal, to his last name, made him look to the wall behind Hanji. This was his role, this was something he was required to do, even if he did hate doing it. "So you either play nice with him, or you face... well, I’ll leave that to your imaginations." Erwin laughed a small laugh, which made Levi look to him, them sharing a silent conversation on him wanting to get out of it.

 

"Be ready in three days. You meet me here, at seven, on the roof. Don't dare keep me waiting."

"Eren, you can go." Levi didn't see the teen leave as he turned to lean back against the desk. He heard the door close as he once again folded his arms across his chest. "Well, what a lovely pairing we seem to have."

"Do you really expect this to work?" He looked to Hanji as she took off out the room, Erwin watching her go until the door was closed as he rounded the desk, pressing Levi in to it.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I think he has the balls to at least keep you on your toes for a change." Hands held his hips, but Levi remained with his arms folded across his chest as he looked up in to the eyes he'd become so familiar with, sighing lightly.

“Do you seriously not want this to happen that badly? You’ve never had this reaction before.”

“The ones before him could at least look at me. They would at least have an ounce of respect that the brat doesn’t seem to have.”

“You’ve only just met him.” Levi rolled his eyes, Erwin moving down to press his lips against Levi’s. He knew this was effectively a distraction to stop him thinking about the first meeting with the Nephilim that had left the room.

 

* * *

  
  
He got there early, 3 days later, to try and catch the teen out, to keep him on his toes. He didn’t want someone that was going to fall at the first hurdle. Erwin had spoken of the teen as someone that could be a person that could stick around for a while, and Levi hadn’t had that since Hanji. The longest anyone had been able to stand had been a month, before either he or his partner in crime at the time gave up the go and had to end it for some reason or another.

 

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” He heard Eren mutter, a smirk curling on to his face from where he was hidden. He was just barely stood out of sight. He peeked to see Eren looking over the edge of the building, looking towards the beautiful sunset that was occurring, lighting up the sky with fire tone colours. He stealthy unsheathed a small knife from his harness and flipped it carefully in his hand. He took aim, and hurled it towards the teens shoulder with clear precision.

 

An impressed look crossed his face for a moment as he moved from his hiding place, and up on top of the small building that led to the stairs to go down in to the building. Eren’s hand had plucked the knife out of the air before it had chance to hit him. It had almost met his target, but the Nephilim’s reflexes were good enough to not let that happen. Levi saw the expression go from shock to anger rather quickly as he looked down towards the other.

 

“The fuck was that?!”

“Congratulations, kid. Your reflexes aren’t completely shit after all.”As he spoke the words coming out of his mouth calmly and quietly. He pushed off the brick and landed gracefully on the edge of the building. Grey eyes looked towards Eren with a now amused expression over his anger.

“Do you always try to maim your partner on the first night, sir, or am I a special case?”

“Special case is one term for you.” Levi replied, smirking. He knew he had a fair bit of ammo on the teen, having checked up on his thoroughly when nothing stood out on their first meeting. It was something he wasn’t going to let Eren forget any time soon.. “I looked at your file, _Eren Jaeger_. No special talents but ‘hard work’. That makes you a lot more useful to me than most; if I can trust you to keep your mouth shut rather than bothering me with small talk.”

 

Straight down to business. There was really no point them having idle chit chat. They had work to do. The fact that there were no notable facts about the kid from training meant, or so Levi was hoping, that he was easy to mould.

 

“You can trust me, sir.” He looked towards the sunset, looking towards the horizon briefly before looking back towards Eren, a frown creeping on to his face. He didn’t like the fact he was being quite openly stared at, his wings especially. It was like Eren had never seen wings before. The brat could at least try and be subtle about checking him out. It was definitely a very unprofessional stare that Eren was giving him. It made him rather uncomfortable, not that he’d show it other than in the anger in his voice.

 

“What are you staring for? Do I look like a fucking pin-up to you, brat?!” He saw Eren smirked at that at it made his hands clench in to fists.

“Not in the way you think, Corporal.”

"Yes, well, keep your mind on the hunt." He casually adjusted his harness, pulling it tighter across his chest as he moved slightly on the edge of the roof. He stepped up on to the raised edge, the wind rustling his feathers and his jacket as he looked down upon downtown New Orleans.

 

It was a pretty straight forwards hunt, as hunts went. Find and identify the girl in question; see if she was fit to save; if she was, exorcise, if she wasn't... He'd cross that bridge when they got to it. He just hoped that Eren wasn’t squeamish when it came to such things. Levi couldn’t be dealing with something like that arising mid hunt.

 

"You follow my lead, are we clear? No questions asked." He looked to his side as Eren joined him on the edge of the roof, nodding slightly in response to his question. "Let’s just get this done so we can both go home, where ever that might be for you."

"Follow you. No questions. Got it."

 

He was irritable and hungry. He'd supposed to have met Erwin before the hunt to eat, but the other had been dragged in to a meeting last minute. It meant Levi was running on the quickest sandwich he'd ever made at home. He also was happily wanting to go curl up in bed since he was already agitated by the brat staring at his wings.

 

His wings were a touchy subject. Most people knew not to even look at his wings for any length of time by now. Clearly the brat didn't listen, didn't know, or didn't care. Either way, it irked him how openly he had been staring. Levi hadn't given Eren's a second glance after acknowledging the colour and size in case he needed to know where the other was in a fight without looking too much. That’s all he needed to know, and that’s all Eren needed to know about them.

 

He would take them by this building in around ten minutes. It just meant dragging the demon out of the way of watchful eyes. If they didn't, it could lead to lives lost, and he wanted to avoid that. He honestly didn't know how Eren was going to react to a life lost because they couldn't get the vile thing where they needed it. "Once we see it, I'll jump it and drag it out of sight. You follow after me."

"Yes, sir."

 

He was fully intending to give the kill to the Nephilim at his side, wanting to see just how he reacted and carried out the act. He'd always thought he could tell a lot of things just by the first kill together, and he always gave it to whoever he happened to be hunting with. His wings twitched behind him as he rolled his shoulders, the feathered limbs moving with the action.

 

Ten minutes later Levi moved without warning, grey eyes locking on to the demons body. He jumped from the building and in to free fall, his wings kicking in to action at the last minute to propel him upwards and cross the thankfully empty street. His feet met it's hips, and snaked around the waist, pulling violently as his hands secured the neck. His wings continued to beat against the air to pull him to the left, hoping to hell Eren was following. "Shit, stop struggling." The demon clawed at him trying to get him off as his wings took them where he watched them. His grip was steel, and once they were in the alleyway, he slid off, one hand threading in to her hair and pulling, the other pulling against her throat. His leg kicked out and it brought her to her knees, Levi's wings vanished quickly as he sensed movement behind the doors to his right. His hand slid up to clamp over the girl’s mouth to stop her yelling out.

 

Eren had followed him, seeing him approaching. Levi knew full well there was no hope for the soul within, it already having succumbed to the darkness and it no longer present. He could sense it wasn't there could see the signs that clearly told him this should be an instant kill, and no mercy should be shown. "Hurry up and kill it Jaeger."

 

Despite Levi’s order to kill the girl in his hold Eren’s hand pressed against her forehead, clearly intent on exorcising it. He wondered how long it would take for the teen to click on that she wasn’t worth saving. That if he got rid of the demon, there would just be a dead body left over. It was a waste of energy to do so, over just putting it down.

 

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica-oh, already gone." Grey eyes looked towards Eren’s face, trying to read what the teen was feeling as he realised that the soul of the girl that was their target was already gone. She had been lost to this world already, maybe days ago. "Requiscat in pace."

 

The jerk that followed the knife was more violent than he was expecting. He only just managed to increase his grip to stop the body leaving his hands. His arms had extended as he was hoping to hell no blood was getting on the hand on the girls neck. The second he felt the body become a dead weight, he dropped it and let gravity take it. He looked down at his left hand, seeing blood had sprayed upwards, flecks on the back of his knuckles and across his fingers. Like hell he was wiping it on himself though. His fingers twitched as he looked down at his hand, then he full on grimaced at Eren as he realised the extent to how covered the teen had gotten. "Lesson one, don't paint with the blood. Far from hygienic. At least if you are going to satiate a bloodlust do so at the side so the blood doesn’t hit you."

 

This was something he could train out of him, given time. But damn he was going to have to show the kid how to kill properly and definitely start carrying wipes just in case. "Call it in." He gestured with slightly bloody fingers to Eren's wrist, already not wearing his own communicator. "Hanji should reply instantly with either coordinates or goodnight." He did wonder if she was going to give them anything else. It was barely past 8, the sky beginning to fall in to dusk around them, the sunset giving the sky a burning quality.

 

"Alright." Levi watched carefully as Eren fiddled with the communicator on his wrist. A few seconds later, Eren’s wrist beeped, making Levi look back to him instead of observing their surroundings. "Got another set of co-ordinates from HQ." He replied, the grin that had been dominating his expression before returning to his face. At least the kid was clearly enjoying himself, if nothing else. Hopefully, he was forgetting the fact that he quite obviously hadn’t wanted to hunt with him in the slightest. "I'll get us there."

 

He watched Eren take off, his own wings unfurling in to view in a smattering of feathers as they lifted him in to the air. He waited for Eren to get his bearings, before taking off after him, following him to their next port of call. He landed just after, on the opposite side of an alleyway. This was too public. He didn’t like public in the slightest. No sane Nephilim liked anything where they could get seen.

 

"Sure this is right?" Eren nodded, Levi looking away from him and out around the street. "How many?"

"Two plus civilians, according to the message."

"How many??"

"She didn't say." At least the brat was keeping up and not saying 'you just asked that,' like so many before him.

"We need to get it to the park." He gestured with his chin across the road, the gates and iron bar separating the grassy, tree ridden area from the rest of the area. He knew the park, it was a decent size. It'd take you a full 40 minute walk from this side to the other. Perfect. He looked back to Eren, looking him over slightly, eyeing all the blood still on him. Hell if he got seen, that alone would cause on uproar.

 

"Assist this time, see if you can learn as quickly as you can kill." Eren nodded again, Levi looking back around. Hanji always accounted for them getting there, so they had to be passing sooner rather than later. "Keep yourself hidden as much as you can, that includes your wings. The second someone sees all that blood, they won’t ask questions first." As he spoke, he undid his jacket, revealing his harness, and letting his swords hang at his sides freely. "Take the one on the left. Don't kill it." He emphasised the word as he looked back to Eren, having spotted both targets, them both being armed.

"Sir?"

"Disarm it, keep the gun, drag it to the tree, and _do not_ kill it. Show me you can have restraint. You need it in this job."

 

With that he was moving, quick as a bat out of hell. He made quick work of sliding over the hood of a car, his wings completely hidden. Levi was using his human body alone and still getting the job done. He heard shouts towards his left, and hoped that was because of how skilled he'd vaulted the hood of the car, and not that they'd see the side of Eren's face. The two rather large bodies housing two demons were accompanied by several people, and you could bet your ass at least one of them would follow. A wire was quick to be detached from his belt, gripping it in either hand as he jumped. He angled it around the thug’s neck and pulled, having gone for the right one, seeing Eren take over on the left as instructed.

 

He pulled, the screams having started. Boy did he hate having to do this. He hated causing a scene but better here where there were only 4 or 5 people to witness it, then in the massive crowd that they'd been headed towards. The gates opened automatically as his back hit them, giving another tug to the snarling demon, this one capable of speech. "Fuck hands if me!" Ok not brilliant speech, but speech none the less.

 

"Not a chance this side of hell." He twisted, left hand letting go of the wire as he saw Eren move in after him, imminently under the cover of trees. A booted foot hit the middle of the man’s back, sending him flying, a gun in his free hand in an instant. A shot was fired and the demons body went limp and screams where heard around them. "Fuck fuck fuck." He uttered to himself, more than anyone else, Seeing Eren wrestling the demon to its knees. The gun was holstered and a knife replaced it, Levi heading over and grabbed the hair on his head, pulling to the left and the knife heading to the right across deep toned skin. He sidestepped as the spray of blood spurting from the body, just missing his coat in a well practiced movement. That was mainly thanks to Eren letting go when he should have. "We need to get out of sight. Now." He gestured to the trees, as if saying to get up there quickly. Given that’s exactly what he meant he hoped Eren was paying attention. "No wings." They needed to appear as human as possible.

 

"NO!!" The woman’s shout drew his attention, clearly having seen the male killed by Levi’s hand, Eren holding him steady.

"Damn it." The wire in his hand was dropped to the floor, pulling his gun from the harness by his ribcage.

"Levi...?"

"Behind me." As Eren hesitated, Levi not even questioning the use of his name, the raven haired Nephilim moved automatically in front of the teen to shield him. "What'd I say about no questions?" Eren obeyed as grey eyes were trained on the girl now approaching. "We're not done."

 

"My... my babe... How the hell could you!?" He gun stayed at his side, fingers twitching around the leather grip as his eyes directed to the black smoke that swirled around her. She screamed as the body that came with it after it had dissipated, grabbed her around the neck and pulled her close, snarling over her shoulder.

 

"Nephs need learnt place." Levi frowned, gun raised the instant it started to talk. He was a good shot, he knew that, Eren might not know that quite yet, but he was about to prove it. He wasn’t going to like the way in which he did, either. He didn't have a clean shot. The demon wouldn’t give him that chance, either. "Pesky Nephs stay out business."

"God I hate higher brain function." He spoke quietly, to Eren, then raised his voice. "Let her go, I wont shoot you."

 

"Gotta shoot. Gotta kill." The grip around her neck tightened and she began to splutter, her hands clawing and her legs jerking under her own weight as she struggled to breathe. He didn't want to do it.

 

"Let her _the_ _fuck_ go." The grip continued on, the demon smirking sadistically towards them both. A beat later, a bullet sounded in the air, the girl dropping to a dead weight, the demon following as a second one sounded. He span, grabbed Eren's arm and pulled him, urging him up in to the tree. He followed after him, signalling for him to be quiet, he knew people were still on the way and they needed to wait for the opportune moment to leave. He looked to Eren, getting his attention, gesturing with his hand and pointed to his back to say he could let his wings show. Eren's were dark enough to blend in with the darkness they were finding themselves in as night fell around them, the tree cover obscuring them from below.

 

Levi, on the other hand, couldn't quite get his out yet. The stark, pearl white would give them away for sure, but they were on the cusp of existence. It put him on edge slightly as the gun was pushed back in to his leather holder on his rib and it clipped closed to hold it tight. His left hand reached up to grab a hold of a thick branch overhead, eyes trained on the scene below. People were coming to investigate the sounds and the noise and screaming erupted around them as the humans of the area found the bloody scene. Thankfully, they'd managed to get in to trees not near the body he'd floored first, so if anyone went to look at the body and looked up, they wouldn't be seen.

 

 

"We should go home. Twice is enough to fail in one night."

 

"Home sounds good." He rolled his shoulders as he moved on the branch next to Eren, wondering if Erwin would have food ready by the time he got there if he messaged ahead on his way past HQ. "But twice? I consider both of those a success, kid. We got out alive didn't we?" He figured he already knew what Eren meant by failing, but he'd been at this far too long and witnessed far too much to think any different than he did. He'd lost count if the decades that had gone by since he started this, since he started having to make the decisions he did. "We got out and we knocked off 4 demons. That's 4 demons less to cause havoc in the world." His wings appeared as they moved, heading out the tree and in to the sky, thankfully undetected.

 

They were soon landing on the closest building, Levi’s wings vanishing from sight as he walked further on to the roof, heading towards the middle. There no place to head downwards via stairs. His fingers moved to do up the middle buttons across his chest, causing his jacket to fall closed towards the bottom until the wind caught the hem and ruffled it as he moved. They weren't that far from HQ here, and he needed to get rid of the blood that was making his fingers itch before he even thought about heading to Erwin's.

 

Levi was vaguely aware of Eren calling in the hunt to Hanji as he was not currently facing him. And he didn’t have to to know that he was clearly about to get a piece of the kids mind, if he had the balls to even think about raising his voice to him.

"We got out but none of the people we're supposed to be protecting did. And I'm not a kid. Doesn't it bother you that we couldn't save anyone? That you shot that girl while looking her in the face without even trying to save her? So yes, sir, we failed."

 

The scowl that was sent his way was amusing, and he’d have probably have laughed if the words were different, looking to the teen as he faced him. His voice and expression was calm, collected. It was quite clear that he had been through this argument, this annoyance far more times than he could count.

 

"Eren, how long have you been hunting?"

"A few months..."

"Do you know how long I’ve been doing this?" He watched as Eren shook his head slowly, the teen clearly still rather angry with him but confusion starting to mingle in to his expression, given the turn of conversation. "Too long to count, but if you want a rough approximation, think near the 50 decade mark, give or take a year." It was true, he didn't even know when he'd started doing this. If he wanted to know his file was readily accessible to him somewhere, and he’d just look up his enlistment date, or rather his date of death. "Don't ever even dare imply that what just happened, didn't bother me. You can't save everyone, Eren, and the second you start trying to, you're going to lose more people than you intend to. I fucking learnt that the hard way, so get it through that thick fucking skull of yours, stop acting like the child you clearly are, and _grow up_. Because if you can't, then you may as well march right back to Hanji and have her throw you back in the cycle, because you’re going to get people killed with the kind of thinking that makes you take unnecessary risks."

 

His hands were balled in to fists at his sides, and he was trying his hardest not to start shouting, even if his voice was raised ever so slightly. He'd had this conversation once already this year, and one was certainly enough. His eyes had locked with the sea green before him the second he'd turned around, the angry, 'try and say otherwise' glare, still at full force.

 

"Perhaps it's just that you've lasted too long. Just because you've given up, don't expect or ask me to. Because I won't stop trying on the advice of someone who experience has made him jaded."

 

Jaded? _Jaded_? He honestly didn’t know how Eren had the nerve to even question his methods, instead of asking him why the hell he’d done it. He’d not even received that question yet, the teen having made assumptions he wasn’t even entitled to make. Levi saw green eyes tear away from his own grey, looking towards the sky, knowing this conversation was coming to an end shortly.

 

"I already tried to tell Hanji that this was a mistake. I'll try and hunt with someone more _childish_ next time. Goodnight, Corporal." His voice was shaking with poorly concealed anger as he turned his back, clearly intent on walking away.

"Just know that you walking away from me, doesn't mean that you are going to be hunting with anyone else. You're stuck with me, Jaeger. Better get used to it." He sighed the last few words, looking to Eren's back, still incredibly angry regardless of his exhausted tone. He didn’t have the patience tonight to deal with this.

 

He didn't have to explain himself to anyone, let alone a brat like this. He hadn't given up on anything. He hadn't stopped saving people, he just knew how to pick his battles. Levi could tell those that could be saved and those that couldn't, and if he got the chance to stop someone dying at the hands of a demon resulting in throwing them in to this life, you'd bet your ass he'd be taking it. He was thrown in to this life and he hoped that if he could help it, he would stop people joining their ranks and dying moments later. It wasn’t a choice he wanted anyone to go through. His first and foremost concern were the Nephilim already a part of this life, a part of his family, the ones that he could help save.

 

He watched as Eren lifted himself in to the sky, sighing slightly as he did so, launching himself up in the same fashion and heading to HQ to message Erwin and wash the blood of his hand.

It didn’t take him long to be pushing the door to his office open. He grabbed hold of his phone on his desk to see a message from Erwin inviting him over when he was finished hunting with Eren.

 

"Just what I was hoping for, old man." He pocketed his phone after typing a hasty 'on my way', rifling through the desk draws to find a white packet of hand wipes. He could get the blood off completely at Erwin’s place. He was soon throwing the wipe in to the trash, packet back in the top draw and was heading towards the door, heading back up to the roof and taking to the skies. It didn't take him long to touch down across from the small house Erwin lived in, having chosen long ago not to go with an apartment, like Levi and most others did. The house even had a small front garden, and a spacious back yard. He was soon walking up the small path, knocking and letting himself in quietly.

 

"You weren't out long." It was a statement rather than a question, and as Levi turned, he saw Erwin holding a glass of wine, looking confused. "I expected you to be gone for another few hours yet. It's not even 10."

"Yeah well, the brat was difficult."

"Want me to reassign him?" Levi paused in taking his jacket off, looking to Erwin. Did he want him reassigned? He figured Eren was going to try his damnedest to not hunt with him any longer at least. But there was something about the kid that he just couldn't let go. He could see the potential and he didn't want to let that slide with hunting with someone else.

 

"No... Leave it for now." He threw his jacket on to the sofa as he passed by, the smell coming for the kitchen igniting his sense of smell. "What are we having?"

“Nothing special, I actually wanted to talk to you first..." He placed his glass down on the counter near the door and headed back through, guiding Levi to the sofa. He sat down, instantly curling up next to him as they always did while they waited for food to cook. Though it was somewhat uncomfortable since he still had his harness on.

 

"Can I at least take my harness off first?"

"I don't think you'll be staying that long, Levi." He froze, and as he defrosted slowly, he pushed himself in to a proper sitting position.

"Where would I be going?" Erwin looked to him, and they shared a silent conversation that Levi just didn't want to have. "Why?" He could see the emotion brewing within the blonde’s eyes and he seriously didn’t want his suspicions confirmed.

 

"Levi..."

"No. I deserve to know why. I can see it in your eyes."

"I haven't seen you like this in a long, _long_ time. I want you to be able to devote all of your attention to it and not have to worry about me."

"Why the hell would I have to worry?"

"Levi I saw the way you looked at him in my office, and how you were when he left it."

 

"Erwin..."

"No, let me finish. This isn't us breaking up. This is us going on a break, to give you time to sort through things that you clearly need to sit and think about. I don't want to hold you back from doing a great job."

"You won’t..."

"I will. You'll get to a point where you want to stay. To help him, but I’ll be at the back of your mind, like you've got to come home to me because you haven't seen me in a few nights. I want that decision taken out of your control, so you are able to do what you do best."

"I like coming home to you."

“I know, Levi I know." He moved forwards, hand reaching out gently to cup his face "I am not doing this because I want to, I’m doing it because it needs to happen. If nothing happens and you end up not hunting with him, you know I’ll be here waiting for you. I won’t be going anywhere." Lips pressed against his own softly, tilting his head slightly as his eyes closed.

 

He couldn't believe this was happening. After all this time, after all these decades he was just going to let him go? Just like that? His brain couldn't understand it. Was this all because of Eren? Or had he done something he shouldn't have? Erwin's pulled away and a thumb ghosted across his cheek as he opened his eyes, grey looking in to a colour he had grown so fond of. "Did I do something wrong? Is that it?" Erwin laughed quietly, removing his hands and taking hold of Levi's jacket, holding it out to him.

 

"You know full well if you had done something wrong, Levi, I’d be the first to tell you." Levi took his jacket slowly, moving to stand.

"I'm..."

"Yes... Consider yourself on leave until Eren feels up to hunting again. I figure something happened and I am deeply sorry for adding to your night."

"I'm just glad you didn't string it out. I'd have expected better from you, if you had."

“I'll always be here for you, Levi, please know that. Even if this goes where I expect it too…”  
  
“The way you expect?” Levi turned back around to fact him, spinning his jacket around and on to his shoulders, pushing his arms through.

“Let whatever happen, happen. This is a good chance for you.” Erwin moved forwards as Levi sorted his jacket so it fell right around his body. “I have faith that Eren will be a great help in getting what you _need_.”  
“How do you even know what it is I need?” He looked up in to the eyes looking down in to his own, wanting nothing more than to grab that stupid bolo tie and force their lips together.   
“Because,” his hands reached up to cup Levi’s face gently, angling his head up so that he was looking at him properly. “I can’t give it you, Levi, and we both know I can’t.”  
“You just need to get over it, then you can, Erwin.” Levi’s hands moved to hold Erwin’s elbows gently with his fingers, wanting nothing more than for the blond to lean down. The taller male moved in closer, a hand sliding down slowly to rest against Levi’s neck.

“It’s not that simple.”  
“Yes. _It is._ You don’t have to shy away from this. I know you’ve got it in you, Erwin, I’ve seen it.”  
“I’m not that person anymore, Levi, and we both know that.”  
“I wish you were…”   
“So do I, Levi, so do I.” Erwin smiled a soft smile, his thumb running across Levi’s bottom lip gently, his eyes looking towards it. “Because I’m going to be the person that let you go, and that will outweigh any achievement that I can do in the future. Whoever comes next will know how much I’ve hurt you, and they won’t let me live it down.” His hands slipped away gently and he stepped back, allowing Levi the room to move. “Go on, you need to shower and sleep. Have something to eat before you sleep, please?”

 

Levi nodded, and then he was gone, out the door and in to the sky quicker than he could think. His wings took him back to his apartment on autopilot as anger started to set in along with the sadness that he was no longer with Erwin.  
The reasoning behind the logic, he couldn’t argue with, but he _wanted to_ , and that was the problem. He’d been with the man for as long as he could remember. Pretty much since he accepted this life they were screwing behind closed doors. Not officially anything, but still. He remembered getting cornered in his new apartment by Commander Smith and not knowing what to do with himself. He’d been so unsure or what was happening, he didn’t understand until he was pressed against a wall with his ass being grabbed.  
  
The thought made him smile as he slipped off his jacket and placed it carefully over the back of the sofa, heading towards the kitchen to do as Erwin asked. He needed more than a rushed sandwich in him before he showered and crawled in to bed and allowed this day to be behind him once and for all.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angry Levi is a tad angry :)
> 
> Again, sorry that it's un-beta'ed, but will update the beta'ed version soon  
> A quick note about both fics:   
> http://firanna.tumblr.com/post/115354637137/fic-wings
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!!  
> Much love <3

The morning brought forth a grumpy, angry Lance Corporal, his buzzing phone being the object that work him. He'd had nowhere to channel the anger inside him, or the utter frustration that came with a rather long term relationship coming to an end. Which is why, when the phone was placed near his ear underneath his pillow, Hanji got an angry greeting.   
  
"Sorry, hunny bun, but I thought I’d call to see if you were alright."

"Bloody _grand_ , Hanji. It's 7 AM and you're calling me." There was a pause on the other end of the line.

_"I've got a hunt for you and Eren later, do you want me to send the info to him?”_

"No. Send me his address instead."

 

**3 Hours later.**

 

"Fucking brat isn't where he's supposed to be and isn't answering my call to get his ass to HQ."

 

 _"Armin says try Jean's."_ He paused, waiting to be told where that was, not getting a response, his anger starting to flare again.

 

"Am I supposed to know where he lives?"

 

 _"Don't get your panties in a twist, hang on."_ None the less, a few minutes later at just gone ten, he was pocketing his phone in to the side pocket of his jacket, now standing outside the correct door. He adjusted the wrap around scarf that covered his neck as his knuckles rapped on the door several times. He took a step back, hands folding across his chest impatiently.

 

Soon enough, the door opened to reveal Eren, half dressed and his hair tussled in to something akin to bed head, but given the marks on his chest, he guessed otherwise. Because yes, his eyes _had_ wandered.

 

"Fuck who? Lance Corporal Levi? It sounded like you wanted to last night."

"Shut the fuck up, Kirsch-neigh. Don't make me come back there and end you." An interested look crossed his face, keeping quiet as his arms unfolded, looking past Eren as Jean's voice go closer to the door.

 

"Where would you find someone to channel the frustration of your unrequited love into if you did that? You practically hero-worshipped the guy for months, Eren, don't tell me you don't want to ride him from here to--holy fuck!" The sight of Jean slapping a hand over his mouth and going bright red, was worth the trek out here, but even though he could see Eren smirking, he knew full well two seconds ago he'd looked rather uncomfortable, and he couldn't pass up that chance.

 

"I can assure you in that situation, the brat wouldn't be doing any riding of the sort." His eyes looked from Jean to Eren, pointedly now ignoring the red in the face male behind the brunet. "As much as a show it is, get some clothes on. Breakfast has our name on it."

 

"Please offer Hanji my apologies, sir." he replied, polite but firm. "But I don't think so." The door was then promptly slammed in his face, not even giving Levi a chance to respond to the rudeness. It made him take a step back and he heard Jean shout behind the heavy door, and he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath. "This. _This_ right here is why you hate the new guys." He spoke softly, opening his eyes as the door opened again, revealing Jean and not Eren.

 

"Lance Corporal, sir."

 

"Save it, Kirstein, I'm seriously not in the mood." And given the fact Eren had just made his mood worse... "Jaeger I'm not here on behalf of her. I'm here on behalf of _me_." The fact he was coming here to apologize was eating at his brain, but he wasn't about to tell Eren that, since that sort of event didn't happen often. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger and not let it come out in a corridor where anyone could here. Why hadn't he had a shouting match with Erwin last night? Given how tired he felt he may as well have. "All I wanted to do is take you for breakfast. No demons. No hunting. But if you'd prefer to screw your friend here all morning, feel free to decline my offer properly without being such a god damn child." His anger was bubbling under the surface, coiling in his muscles. He was just wishing for Eren to give him one more reason to piss him off, because he would storm the apartment if he had to, and he'd damn well find a weapon.

 

"Breakfast, Eren?" Jean chuckled as he spoke, looking over his shoulder to the half-dressed teen behind him, looking over his shoulder. Eren soon vanished though, heading out of sight and leaving Jean to keep him company. The silence ticked by, as without confirmation of the fact Eren wasn't accepting his offering, he wasn't moving. The kid could be an adult for a chance and decline him sensibly. 

 

"If there's no demons involved, then that makes everything different, sir." A quick wave to the taller male behind him, Eren was out the door and passing him, Levi frowning slightly as Eren's whole demeanor had changed from when he'd slammed the door in his face.. "So, breakfast?"

 

"There's a restaurant I like just down this way." He crossed the empty road, heading down the small street. Readjusting his scarf once they were outside and he was half leading the way.

 

He was rather grateful that Eren had accepted the offer of breakfast with him, given that it was part of his plan to get Eren back hunting. If he could spend time with him outside a work setting, he could definitely work with what he had. Get him back round to a hunting mind set. He walked in silence, a step ahead as he led the way, soon coming to a quaint little cafe. The staff in there knew him enough now, since himself, Hanji, and Erwin frequented here rather regularly, to seat him in a secluded spot towards the back, away from listening ears in a small booth.

 

He slid in carefully, glancing as Eren sat on his otherwise, barely noticing the gap between them that was left as he unwound his looped scarf from his neck. He slipped his jacket off, it rather warm in the small cafe. He was somewhat thankful for the light, paper thin full sleeved top that hugged his figure, along with the jeans around his legs. The top went to the top of his thighs, covering his ass completely, the sleeves passing just a half centimetre past his knuckles. The warmth had made his cheeks flushed without being able to help it, having wrapped up for flight and the cold morning when he'd left his apartment. Two menus had been left, and Eren had already grabbed one of them, Levi sliding his own towards him as he took a deep breath in an out, Erwin still on his mind slightly as he looked over the menu. He knew exactly what he was going to have since he always ordered the English breakfast whenever he was here at this time of day, it was something to distract himself with, letting Eren get used to the idea of where they were and who he was with.

 

 

Levi saw Eren move next to him, vaguely aware of him messing with him phone or whatever it was he had, as his eyes scanned the menu, wondering if he wanted something different, choosing not to, and flagging down a waitress. He quickly ordered, moving his jacket and scarf further from him as Eren ordered his own food, Levi taking to looking around the small place, quite content, even though he didn't look it.

 

Levi actually felt like he could go back to bed, given the night they'd had. Eren had been lucky, having been able to work his frustrations out with Jean. He'd not even got that chance, and an annoyed expression crossed his face briefly as he recalled Erwin ending it between them. A small sigh through his nose, Levi soon looking to the waitress coming back, bringing drinks. He quickly thanked her as she left and pulled the tea cup towards him, adding sugar and stirring carefully.

 

"So, Kirstein, really? I'd have thought he wouldn't be your type." He still wasn't looking to the teen, focused entirely on sorting his drink and he strained the tea bag with his spoon, placing it carefully on to the edge of the small saucer.

"He isn't. We argue all the damn time, about the stupidest things. But all that tension has to go somewhere when we're drinking, I guess. And he reminds me of being a college student again, because he was too.

 

He looked across there after having already started eating, having picked up on the distracted toned seeing Eren not eating, but looking to his lap still, his drink not even touched. "Eren, I didn't bring you here to order food and then not eat it." He saw Eren look to him, then to his food, hastily shoving what he now saw was a book out of sight under his bag. Though not in the least bit well, since Levi could not see it was a sketch book, and that made him intensely curious as he could see the edge. He watched Eren start eating somewhat reluctantly, clearly itching to pick up the sketch pad again. He smiled slightly as he looked to his drink, picking the tea cup up and drinking from it slowly before putting it down next to his plate.

 

He was so quick in moving that Eren looked to him after he already held what he was after. "You know, I'm not that boring."

 

"Hey, give that back," Eren reached across and he scooted a little further away, holding it to the side and out of reach as he flipped it open using his thumb at the bottom of the pages, the spine held in his hand to hold it carefully, keeping it steady. Grey eyes were still on Eren as he did so, smirking for the first time properly since last night.

 

"If you can practically ignore me for this," he turned his head back, his words slowing, "then I... can.. look."

 

He was looking to his own face in the page, and whereas it was a rough drawing, that thought didn't stick with him as he moved it in front of him. His fingers of his right hand flipping the pages while his left held it steady underneath and out of reach of Eren.

 

There was nothing but him in here in the slightly off-white pages... And it was a little creepy. Had the kid even met him when he'd started drawing these? "He wasn't lying then." He smiled a little more softly there, thinking that Jean was right on the misplaced hero-worship or unrequited love. Grey eyes looked up at Eren, his arm still half reaching across the table. "I'm flattered kid but had you even met me at this point?" He was open on one of the drawing at the front angling it so Eren could see, and he saw sea green eyes look to the pages.   


"No... Not officially."

"Well," he looked down, flipping the pages slowly. "Here I am, never had a stalker in all my days and I'm suddenly eating breakfast with one. Should I be worried?" His tone was playful, to match the smirk that drew back on to his face as he flipped through, wondering why his wings were left uncoloured on a few of the ones near the middle that had been coloured. He had to admit though, the kid was pretty talented, even if it seemed he had a slight obsession, it just made him a little more annoyed about last night. He'd clearly upset the perfect picture Eren had laid out about him, having not seen behind the curtain so to speak. Though he hoped he was making up for it with this morning, or at least starting to.

 

"M'not a stalker. Can't exactly help what takes my interest when I draw, sir." Well that sounded awesome.. "Besides, my other sketchbooks have other people in. Perhaps if you weren't so photogenic I wouldn't have kept drawing you." Levi let Eren keep digging the hole that he was currently digging himself in to deeper and deeper. It was like the teen just didn't have an off button from his brain to his mouth.. "Ugh. Now I sound even more like a stalker. I should stop talking."

 

He smirked further, picking up his fork as he placed the sketchpad on to the table furthest away from Eren so he couldn't take it as he continued to look threw.

 

"Well I am deeply sorry for being so 'photogenic', though you are the first to say it." He speared some scrambled eggs on to his fork with some bacon, eating it slowly as he turned the page, then quicker, till he got to the latest ones Eren had been sketching out. "Why are my wings not coloured on the ones you have used colours for?" He closed the book with one hand, Eren taking it back now it was offered, "you don't have to answer, I’m just curious."

 

He picked his knife back up now, not looking towards Eren while he ate, letting him work out some of the embarrassment while he opened the sketch pad gain to look through. He was rather curious to see a finished product, now he thought about it. 

 

"They aren't coloured because I never knew what colour they were. The first and only time I saw you it was in passing. I was just some brand new trainee and you were walking past with Commander Erwin. You never so much as looked at us, but why would you?" His quiet, fond chuckle made it clear just how much he valued the memory. "What with being _'Heavens Strongest'_ and everything. I haven't been able to get one done that I'm happy with yet, it's probably why I nearly filled the sketchbook. I'm not usually as creepy as that makes me seem, I swear."

 

"Oh I believe you." He smirked, eating more of his breakfast, swallowing and looking to Eren again as he ate more of his pancakes. "And as for not looking at any of you, don't think any of you are special. I distance myself from everyone." He did it for a reason and he wasn't about to explain himself. As he finished his food off, he thought that would have been a good thing to do with Erwin. He frowned slightly, sighing quietly as he brought his drink to his lips, pushing the plate away with free hand, resting his elbow on to the table, his cup hanging from it loosely with only a small amount of the liquid left, his grey eyes on it as he slowly swirled its contents. "At least now you know they're white."   
  
His voice was quiet as he shifted his shoulder subtlety, looking to his used plate. Levi saw Eren nod out of the corner of his eye, pushing his empty plate away as he pulled the sketchbook back towards him and picked up exactly where he'd left off.

 

"Good to know." he replied. "Now I might actually get one finished. Then hopefully I can move on to something else." A smirk overtook the teens own expression then as he picked his coffee back up. "Maybe I'll creep Jean out next time, the smug bastard." Even Levi could picture the annoyed look on Jean's face and it was a highly amusing thought.

 

“Would you like anything else, or?”

 

"No, nothing else to do here." Eren replied, tucking his sketchbook into his bag as the waitress came over with the bill. "That covers me." Eren announced, Levi watching as he tucked the note in his pocket of the jacket that was between them on the bench seat. He was already fully intending to give it back in some way. "Now you can get something nice.”

 

The glare that followed Eren’s words was like ice. Did this kid have an _actual_ death wish??

"Please, I’m going to need a little more than $10 for that." He fished his card out of the wallet in the back of his jeans, flagging down the waitress when she looked over from moving away once she’d placed the bill down upon the table.

He paid quickly, stashing the card back in to his wallet and that back in to his jeans pocket as he stood. He reached for his jacket and scarf, quick to put them on before crouched down and readjusting the ends of his jeans under his boots, the laces still slack, but not dragging on the floor.

 

He didn't exactly want to keep the money Eren had pushed in to his jacket pocket, and he could feel it as his hand went to place his phone in his pocket. Levi would definitely make sure to get the money back to Eren one way or another, even if it meant taking him out again for food and making sure he forgot his wallet. "Let's go." He headed towards the door, readjusting his scarf just as he pushed it open and held it for Eren to come out behind him. He let it swing shut once Eren was out of the door way, "are you heading back to your boyfriends?"

 

"Boyfriend?! _Jean_? How does the odd few nights of angry sex count as that?!"

"Good to know you can handle it rough, kid."

 

Eren had fallen into step beside him as they headed away from the cafe and nearly tripped over his feet, face gaining a bright red blush yet again.

 

"Jean wouldn't know what rough was if it bit him," he replied cheekily. "I can take a lot worse."

"I'm sure a lot worse would see you on your knees at some point, kid." He smirked, wondering if Eren even knew the meaning of that kind of rough. He guessed he didn't, but you never knew these days. He began to head in the direction of Jean's, heading back in the direction they'd came.

 

As they walked, he zipped up his jacket properly, starting to feel the cold in the air already and he wasn't even airborne yet. He intended to go back to HQ to make sure Erwin had put a stop to Eren being transferred from him to someone else, and that his comment on having a few days until Eren came round still stood. He wasn't going to be escaping from him that easily.

 

"Oh really? I'm quite used to that already."

"Yes, you do look like the type to be used to kneeling." He glanced to Eren out the corner of his eye as they crossed the road, then kept his eyes in front of him, barely acknowledging the borderline flirting that was occurring. Part of his mind was still wrapped up in Erwin to notice, but another part was quite happy to keep the casualness going. Jean's wasn’t all that far away, and his phone had told him it was just before 11AM. He still had the entire day maybe he wouldn't go back to HQ first...

 

"If that's an offer..."

"See where that gets you, kid."

"Most of the time I prefer not being able to." he replied simply, his tone only just shy of teasing. "Using my imagination tends to end better."

"Clearly you haven't found someone where you imagination isn't required." His smirk was still present, looking up at Jean's apartment block, soon stopping alongside Eren. “I need to be at HQ to sort out a few things. See you around Jaeger." He gave him a glance up and down before starting to move away. When he didn't get stopped he began to walk at his normal pace, soon turning a corner, fully intending to walk to HQ. As much as he liked flying, he didn't fancy going up as high as he would need to be, given it was midmorning, there was far more people milling about on the streets of New York. He didn't fancy being seen because he was distracted.

 

It only took him around half an hour to get from Jean's apartment block to Head Quarters, heading in the main doors, looking far too stylish for the others going about business in full uniform.   
"Lance Corporal!! _Darling,_ you simply look _ravishing_." He sighed, keeping on going towards the elevator having no doubt that the over eager puppy dog that was his best friend, would follow him. "You look far too nice for just breakfast, Levi." Now she was next to him and following him in to the elevator, she clearly didn't have a problem using his name. Though it was considerate of her to not shout his name but his title across the lobby, he supposed.

 

"I always dress this way, Hanji."

"But that’s the _really nice_ jacket." He hit the button for his floor, then Hanji's, guessing she would be heading to her labs. "I prefer the blue one, but still, the black one is just as nice."

"Has Erwin's order to stop Jaeger being transferred gone through?"

"First thing this morning." She leant back next to him, regarding him with a curious expression. "How you doing?"

"Perfectly fine.”

"You don't seem fine."

"Well I _am_ fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Hanji, just drop it" He spoke the final words as the doors opened, heading out quickly and down the corridor, not wanting to be stopped in case Erwin came out his office.  


Thankfully, he wasn't stopped, sliding in to his desk chair and booting up his computer. If everything had in fact gone through, he'd have a message about it. Erwin wouldn't want to let Levi find out any other way than through him, officially. True to form, there was one, saying that Levi was on downtime until such time that a suitable hunting partner could be found, and that Eren was in fit condition to hunt alongside him. He typed a hasty thank you, and sent it, going on to slide to the other end of his desk to sort through the papers there. As he stopped, he took off his jacket and scarf, hanging them on the back of his chair as he went about finishing off everything he needed to do.

 

About 4 hours later, Levi completely missing lunch, his computer beeped, the inbuilt messenger flashing on the bottom task bar. He frowned slightly, clicking it to see the message, seeing Erwin's name followed by, 'you're at the office?'

 

He typed back quickly, keys clacking under his fingers.

 

_LCLR: 'Yes. It's a work day. Of course I'm at the office.'_

_COES: 'I wasn't expecting you in.'_

_LCLR: 'Do you want me to go home?'_

_COES: 'No.'_

 

The no was sent back far too hastily, and he looked to his door, wondering if Erwin was going to stay text based, or actually walk the few feet between their doors in the corridor and come see him. The beep that followed clearly said text based.

 

_COES: 'Are you ok? You didn't respond this morning.'_

_LCLR: ‘I was at breakfast, then I was distracted. I half expected you to walk in to my office 5 minutes after I’d sat down.'_

_COES: 'I've been in meetings all day. I've only just got out.'_

_LCLR: 'Sounds like a blast.'_  
COES: 'You've no idea.'   
  
  


There was a small knock at his door that made him look up from his phone, having been about to type a reply a message to Hanji, it stopping him as it opened. Erwin moved in slowly, a soft smile on his face. “Can I join you?”  
  
“What for? I thought you’d have more meetings.”  
“That was my last one… and, by all rights, you were expecting me anyway.” His smile became a little more defined as he held the door handle with his right hand, clearly prepared to go back out and leave Levi alone if he were to say no to the request. He gestured and placed his phone down, getting up as he did so, the message to Hanji sending as he headed round his desk and joined the older man on the sofa against the wall. “How was breakfast?”  
  
“Kid tried to pay his half. He brought me and Hanji lunch.”  
“You actually took the money?” Erwin spoke as he raised an eyebrow, twisting himself so his left leg was bent on to the sofa, left arm resting against the backrest. “That’s surprising.”  
“He didn’t give me much choice in the matter, in all fairness.” Levi did the same, mimicking the pose but with his right side, and resting his head against his hand on the back cushions. “Told me to buy something nice for myself with $10.” Erwin laughed there, looking around Levi’s office, to the windowed wall that made him have to change offices.   
  
“You definitely need more than ten bucks for that.” Erwin smiled, eyes looking back to Levi’s, who was already watching him. “What?”  
  
“Wondering why you came in here. It couldn’t have just been to talk about Eren.” Erwin stared at him, it feeling like he was staring in to his soul rather than just his eyes. He’d not looked at him this way in… he couldn’t remember when.   
  
“I wanted to check you were alright. Is that a crime?”  
“It is with what just happened. You said you were going to give me space.”  
“I can’t seem to keep myself away.”  
  
Erwin’s smirk faded slightly, Levi frowning as it happened. He would be lying if it were something he hadn’t been thinking about ever since they broke up. It didn’t feel like a clean break either. Here Erwin still was, very much in his life and able to capture him with just one glance. It was everything he’d missed, everything that hadn’t been in their relationship towards the end. It was something he craved.  
  
“You’re supposed to be giving me time.”   
“Do you really want time?” Erwin moved as he spoke, quickly and effectively. There was no wasted energy in the slightest, every move carefully thought out beforehand. And Levi didn’t stop it, ending up being pressed to the bottom of the sofa so quickly, his arms moved on muscle memory. “Do you really want to sit and talk this through?” His mind clouded at the words, the lust that was present in the voice of the man pushing in in to the cushions below his back. “Not been able to get you out of my mind, Lance Corporal.” Their noses brushed together gently as the blond spoke, Levi’s eyes closing as his nails dragged along the shaven hairs at the nape of the man’s neck.   
  
“We could talk…” Levi breathed as his nose gently bumped against Erwin’s, opening his eyes to look up in to the emotion filled ones above. “Or you could make your mind up whether you do or do not, want to kiss me.” The response was lips pressing against his own and sending his mind reeling as his eyes shut as his hand pulled at the back of Erwin’s neck, pulling him in deeper to the kiss. A hand slid up his front, over the buttons of his shirt and undoing the top three.

“Shit…” He breathed carefully, knowing full well the door was unlocked and Hanji, or anyone for that matter, could walk in at any minute. Teeth dragged against the join of his neck to his shoulder, a mark having been sucked in to existence as he swore. “You are too fucking good at that.” Erwin laughed against his skin, sending a shiver running down his spine.  
  
“You know what else I’m good at?” Levi didn’t have a chance to answer as his breath caught in his throat in a sharp gasp as a hand cupped his groin. The grip was careful, gentle, but very much telling him that it wasn’t moving unless a good argument was presented. “Tormenting you should be a recognised skill.” Levi’s eyes closed as Erwin flexed his grip, a strangled moan escaping his throat. It was met by a sly smirk as Levi’s grip increased around the mans neck. The word ‘torment’ was probably right on the money since words definitely escaped him right now. His belt was quickly undone, expertly done with one hand, before Levi’s shot out to halt the action of the hand undoing anything else.   
  
“You… You _dare_ make me make a state of these…”  
“You have a change of clothes here, you always do.”  
  
“Yeah, and that won’t be suspicious at all.” As Erwin kept going, Levi’s other hand slid up in to Erwin’s hair, pulling it back as his other pulled Erwin’s wrist. “You know I don’t like this in my office.” He almost whined, clearly wanting to keep going but wasn’t too thrilled with being helped to get off on his sofa, in his office, where anyone could walk in. He’d much rather the door either be locked, or be on a comfortable bed where they couldn’t get caught.  
  
“There was once a time you didn’t care for such things.”  
“And there was a time you’d respect my wishes.” His voice was strained as Erwin’s hand had returned to resting against the ever growing problem between his legs. Erwin looked to him, eyes flickering between the steel grey looking back. His hand slid away slowly, leaning down to capture Levi’s lips with his own and brought Levi in to a slow, passionate kiss. Levi let out a small moan as he pulled away, deflating as his hand pulled through blond hair. “Why couldn’t you kiss me like that when we were together?” Erwin smiled down at him, moving to shift, pulling Levi up with him.   
  
“Because you were looking for something I couldn’t give you.” He stood up slowly, stretching alittle as he looked back to a confused looking Lance Corporal. “I could give you a lot of things, Levi, but passion and affection is something you can’t get from me. Not anymore.”  
“I could though, if you’d let me in.”  
“There’s someone better than me Levi, and I won’t stand in your way of finding it.” He spoke as he moved towards the door, hand on the handle as he looked back around, looking to see Levi doing up his trousers. “You deserve so much better, and…” He sighed, a small smile on his face. “I’ll always be there for you, for whatever you need. Shame it wasn’t this, really.” He gave him a wink, heading out the door quickly, shutting it quietly behind him.   
  
Levi sighed, resting his head back against the cushions as he slid slightly on the sofa. His hands ran down his face, not being able to blame the man in the slightest, for anything. And that was something that he wished he could do. It would make him heal a heck of a lot quicker than the gaping hole he currently felt. He pushed himself up, trying to think extremely happy thoughts that didn’t involve the blond that had just left his office. He was glad he left, but not so given the problem between his legs right now. It took him 15 minutes to will it away and get ready, heading down to Hanji’s science floor to find her in her office there, knowing she wasn’t next door to his given how much work she had to do. He pushed the door open without announcing himself, just leaning against the frame happily.

 

"Levi I already told you when you messaged that I don't have time to eat."

"You don’t have time to eat, but you have time to send me random, cryptic pictures of blonde mushrooms?" Hanji laughed, trying to organise her train wreck of a desk. Levi just wanted to do it for her, and probably would when she left for the night because no doubt he'd still be here.

"That was on my route up here."

"Bring whatever you are trying to work on with you? Hanji you need to eat, because I doubt you ate breakfast." He wasn't about to let this slide. She always pestered him to make sure he remembered to eat when he was having days like this. "I'll even help you carry anything you're bringing."

 

"You aren't exactly dressed for a cafeteria, Levi, and since when did you willingly go eat in there?"

"Since you refused to go _out_ for food?" It was true, he barely ever went in there for food unless he had to, but he wasn't opposed to working in there when his office got too depressing. She looked up to him and he held her gaze as he leant in the doorway, and after a minute or so staring match, she sighed, Levi smirking as he moved in to the office. She never did win these kinds of arguments.

 

"Grab that." She gestured at some folders, Levi picking them up as she grabbed a stack of paperwork and a small tablet computer. He balanced the folders between his arm and hip, heading out with her down a few floors.

 

It wasn't long, before they were sat down in a far corner of the cafeteria, Hanji making a snide comments on people stopping to gawk at his choice in outfit as they walked in. While she set up her things, he went to buy food, lunch thoroughly on Eren, just for the teen’s annoyance the night before. He ended up with two pasta dishes, looking the best of the options available, heading back to the woman pouring over paperwork. He placed the food down and went to grab drinks and cutlery, soon sat across from her and leaning forwards with a fork in hand. "How'd breakfast go?? You never did tell me."

 

"It was fine. This highly late lunch is on him given he put $10 in to my jacket."

"And you walked away with it?" She looked up, grabbing her own fork, a look of disbelief on her face.

"I wasn't about to have another argument. After last night, I can do without the drama."  


"Have you spoke to him?" Somehow he knew they weren't talking about Eren anymore.

"Briefly, in my office. We talked it out a little I suppose." He kept quiet what had actually occur, in fear of her hitting him in excitement, annoyance, or going to do the same to Erwin, given how many mixed signals the man was currently sending him.

"Still strange to think you're single for a change. I miss single you. Far more fun."

"Yeah well, get used to it, because it aint changing for a heck of a while. Though I don't feel very 'fun', Hanji."

 

"Eh, you'll grow in to the fun." She laughed, the snide short joke making him roll his eyes as he looked from her back to his pasta, eating it slowly. "So you aren't interested in the slightest?"

"Hanji, will you drop it?"

"When you answer the question."

"Then no, I’m not interested in anything other than work."

"Then what was breakfast for?"  


"To get him to... trust me..." His speech slowed down slightly as his brain caught up with what he mouth was saying, a frown on his face again at Hanji's smug look.

"You've never done that before..."

"I see potential in him, alright? That’s my job. If he stops hunting with me, he's going to get pushed aside and used for fetch and carry jobs."

"He might hunt better with someone else."

 

"You and I both know that’s not going to happen. Erwin will have more reports to fill out on him than he likes." Hanji hummed as she watched Levi finish off his food, the woman looking to stare quite openly across the cafeteria, right at where Armin was sat with Eren.

 

"Well, he's already getting creative with trying to get off you." She smirked, laughing to herself quietly at her words. "Though I don't understand why, have you _seen_ you?" He looked at her with a blank expression. Did she even _hear_ herself?

 

"Hanji, I'm not all that great."

"Please, _I’d_ jump you."

"Is that an offer?"

"For you sugar, it's _always_ an offer." She turned to wink at him, before looking back over at the pair on the other side of the room. “But mmm. He enlisted the blond." Levi followed her gaze, seeing Eren sat with Armin, drawing and eating a sandwich. "Got him to hack my system. The only reason I caught it was because I had it open."

 

"I take it that was the picture you sent?" He looked back to her, seeing her nod as she gazed dreamily in their direction.

"He was concentrating pretty hard bless him. I haven't changed it back though, you got assigned someone I don't know. I think Nile handled their first days."

"Why haven't you changed it?”

"I don’t want them to know I know. Like hell am I going to let that slide, I'll change it before the hunts are assigned. With any luck, he won’t catch it when he assigns jobs to the names. I can make him a secondary, so his name doesn't show up on the list. You'll need to be wearing your communicator though. You can take it off when he gets there."

 

"That'll be a fun night. Jaeger showing up to me and not Arlett, since I'm guessing that’s who he's with now."

"I can stop Arlett though, I’ll make his hunt a few hours later than yours and he'll still be here handing out help, since he's taking over on yours from me. Erwin wants me to take a step back from you." Levi looked up to see her with a frown on her face and looking to her paperwork. At least she'd stopped staring.

 

"Why's he asked you to do that? I’d prefer you on the other end over the mushroom."

"Stop calling him that." She laughed, Levi smirking, "Armin's fine at the job, heck, he's better than most, you know that since you assigned him to me." He hummed his agreement picking up the cup next to the bottle he'd been pouring in to the china between his fingers.

 

* * *

"Are you going to get changed at any point? You're out on the job later."

"It doesn't take me long to get in to my gear, Hanji. Honestly stop flapping." The cafeteria was empty by the time they moved, Hanji finally needing something from her office. He helped her back to her office at around 6PM, heading to his own a few floors up to collect his communicator. He attached it around his wrist, hating wearing it but given the circumstances, he had to. He flew home not long after, landing stealthily in an alleyway across from his apartment block, hurrying inside to get changed.

 

It wasn't long, just before 7, which he was suited up and ready to go, messaging Hanji, who forwarded it to Armin. She informed him that she'd told the blond to send Eren ahead to the location since she needed to see him, meaning Levi didn't have long to get to the coordinates that Armin sent to him. They weren't far away, thankfully, finding them to be a woodland landscape.

 

He landed bang on the coordinate spot, moving under a tree and leaning there, looking through the branches and leave to the sky at 7:30, waiting to see who turned up, hoping Armin hadn't realised he was sending the same coordinates to Eren and himself. No doubt Hanji had distracted Armin enough that he'd barely be looking at what he was sending him, and showing Eren. A smirk crossed his face as he saw black blue wings above him, putting his own out of sight quickly as he rolled his shoulders against the bark of the tree trunk behind him. Eren landed several feet away from him, and grey eyes looked over to him as he looked around. "You think it'd be that easy to get rid of me, kid? You need to up your game if you want off this train."

 

"Get rid of you? I thought the creepy sketchbook did that?" He smirked, Eren outwardly keeping his cool more than he thought he would.

"I've seen worse." He pushed off the tree, knowing full well this hunt was an easy one. He knew exactly what they needed to do, but he wasn't about to let anything slip to Eren. Maybe a less authoritative route would be better for this Nephilim.

 

"How about we carry over this morning and try not to step on each other's toes?" He knew that was far easier said than done, as not only did they seem to have clashing personal beliefs, but also a different work ethic, something that had become faded over time for him. "I know we share different ideals on this, but maybe that's why people were so insistent to keep us together, and that a little hacking isn't going to make go away." He kept a good distance between them, hands at his sides, trying to keep himself as none threatening as possible, even with his normal habits. His hand had already gone to the hilt of his sword, holding there idly as he always did on hunts, his other inches away from his gun. It occurred to him that Eren didn't exactly know his tells in regards to what he did automatically when in this gear yet, and he twitched, his arms reluctantly crossing over his chest loosely.

 

"Alright." He replied, sighing as he turned away to survey the forest floor beneath them. God only knew what demons were doing out here. "But only this last time. Last night already proved my point that we're no good together even if Commander Erwin is looking for someone to pair you up with and seems to have decided that's me."

 

"Compatibility can't be decided on one night, Jaeger." He smirked more broadly now, moving past the teen and looking around. He was hoping for more nights, he needed to prove to the kid how much potential he actually had. He felt like he'd barely scratched the surface and he wanted to be the best bet on bringing that talent out. Plus, this was a nice distraction from everyday life since a good hunt kept his mind off everything outside of it. He didn't mind focusing on Eren for a few hours. Hanji would certainly approve of such a thought process. "What'd the mushroom tell you about the hunt?" He turned around, hand back on the handle of his sword, waiting for Eren to tell him the information.

 

"We're out in the middle of nowhere because a couple of possessed hikers keep dragging people off to form a clique." Eren replied, re-reading the info he'd been given earlier on his phone after syncing it up with his watch. "Should be easy enough." He clicked the screen dark again and stowed the phone back in his pocket, his wings fluttering and reshuffling before folding against his back and then melting out of vision. "If we fly they're going to hear us a mile off."

 

He sighed and then was off down the tree, easily sliding between the branches to reach the leaf-strewn floor below. The atmosphere was unusually quiet in a way that set them both on edge, and there was no clear signs of life among the trees. Thankfully that didn’t matter, as the demons would be giving off their usual smoky black aura and the more that were gathered the worse that it was. It meant that two or three of them would be far easier to follow than just one alone. It was always a bonus for them. Large groups made things easier, in his opinion. They weren't that far away, and Eren already had the sword he usually kept strapped to his back drawn in to his right hand. It prompted him to do the same.

 

When they got there they found that the two hikers they'd been tipped off about must have been here for a while - their camp was totaled, given that demons didn't need to eat and they didn't tend to take notice if their vessel starved until it started looking unreasonably thin and causing them problems with interacting on a more human level, needing to blend in. Eren headed straight on ahead without looking, and he guessed that was because of the slight hissing and sounds of a struggle that Levi could hear on the edge of his hearing. They had a teenage boy who didn't look much more than twelve pinned down to the forest floor. From the look of the glowing demonic sigil carved into the tree they were about to drag a companion through with a meat suit already waiting. He let Eren lead for now, watching as he whacked one of the hikers over the back of the head with the flat of the blade near to the hilt, hard enough to send her sprawling and then caught the other man pinning the teen down with a punch to the face. He noticed his free hand reaching in to his pocket, pulling out his phone. He watched him mess with it quickly, standing behind him, his sword gripped in his hand as he handed the phone to the small boy.  


"Look after that for me."

 

He followed Eren’s lead as much as his mind would allow. Though he had to admit, once the sound from the phone registered, it was easier. The pre-recorded exorcism was a good idea, but he wouldn’t have left the child to hold it and to watch the horrifying show that was sure to follow. It caused him to detour, dropping his sword and gun to the ground, his hands turning the boy’s face away gently, a reassuring smile on his face.   
  
“Don’t look, ok? We won’t let anything hurt you, I promise. Just focus on the trees. Ok?”The boy nodded, moving his head out of Levi’s hands and directing it upwards as instructed. The exorcism wouldn’t last long, but there was no need to have child scared with the image of pain and smoke leaving the body of a man that had kidnapped and pinned him in to the ground to become a vessel. He picked up his weapons, his sword slashing at the nearest demons arm, making his hand fall from his ear, the words hitting strong and true. The other one could wait, as Eren took his attention as he glanced towards him.

 

He moved well away from the kid on the floor, his gun quick to take aim at the demons body, clearly visible from his vantage point. A bang sounded through the area before Eren had chance to do anything, the body dropping to the floor. He knew the positioning of those hands, and he wasn’t about to let Eren get his wing ripped off, since they never stopped at just causing pain. A grounded Nephilim was a dead Nephilim, in the eyes of demon. The demon fell away, another bang signaling a shot to its throat, causing it to bleed out from two places as the bullet passed through, it dead in moments. He was quick to go over to the Nephilim, helping him to his feet before letting go quickly one he was stood, looking on the carnage of the blood and dead bodies.  


Once Eren was rummaging through the camps wrecked and broken supplies, Levi sheathed his weapons again, the child still looking to the sky, clutching Eren’s phone to his chest now it had stopped playing. He walked over, his voice soft and comforting. “Hey, kid.”He looked to Eren, seeing him with a spray can and a lighter, grey eyes back on to the small child, who was now looking to him. “You’ve been the bravest guy I’ve ever met tonight.”The child nodded a little, still holding Eren’s phone like a life line in both hands. “What’s your name?”

 

“A-Aaron..”

“Well, Aaron, I’m Levi, nice to meet you.”He smiled, the child slowly coming round to focusing on him more and more by the second.

“S’funny name.”He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though took an inward, calming breath.

 

“One you’re probably gonna remember for a while, but I need you to not tell anyone, alright?”He nodded quickly, looking down to Eren’s phone. Levi knelt down on the forest floor, instead of crouching, looking to the phone as well. “Can I have that? My friend here needs to use it soon.”Not strictly true, but he didn’t need to know that.

 

“But.. It helped me.”

“I know it did, but there’s no danger now, and there won’t ever be again. And if there is, you can bet we won’t be far behind to help. So you don’t need it anymore, right?”

“Right…” Slowly, the child held out the phone, Levi taking it in his hands, pocketing it quickly, soon placing his hand on to the child face carefully, his right eye twitching ever so slightly.

 

“How’s sleep sound, it’s getting pretty dark, yeah?” Aaron nodded, his eyes beginning to droop steadily, and soon enough, was falling sideways, Levi’s hands catching him and moving with the action, leaning over him for a moment as he shook his head a fraction, blinking furiously as dots played over his eyes. Been a while since he’d done that... “Man,” he leant back, falling on to his ass, his knees bent to see Eren turning back to put out the fire on the tree, “takes it out of you, doing that. Been a while.” It was a useful tool, flooding someone’s body with enough angelic grace to get their mind to succumb to shutting down for a short while. Completely harmless, and gave a nice cover if their wings were ever seen.

 

"At least we got here in time."

“Yeah,” he took a deep breath in and out, as he watched Eren shift the child in to his arms, eyes roaming to his wings, not seeing any physical damage bar a few out of place feathers, which would annoy him no end if he were Eren. He pushed himself up to stand, swaying slightly, a hand going to cover his eyes as he took another deep breath, soon looking to Eren and then the child, “definitely a good thing we got here in time.”It was just a shame that the kids parents probably weren’t shaping up too well. Since it was clear by the boys fear that the demon that had pinned him to the floor wasn’t his parent.” He hoped they escaped to the nearest town and hoped to hell it wasn’t the one he’d put two bullets in to. He felt his phone buzz, and he pulled it out, looking at the screen. “Go, get him to the nearest town. I need to answer this idiot, and I’ll call this in to Arlett. Sure he’ll have been told by now.”He watched Eren nod and was quick to take flight, leaving him within the forests wooden walls.

 

He started walking, away from the scene just in case anyone came close, messaging the taller blond back with a short response of ‘stop sending mixed signals’to his offer of food when he was finished with Eren. He pocketed his phone and turned to his wristwatch, tapping until he managed to send word to Arlett that the job was complete, telling him to send coordinates to Eren and himself and a clean-up crew. He soon received some, intending to meet Eren there after getting confirmation he and Eren weren’t going to have to clean-up after themselves.   
  
It didn’t take him all that long to get to where Armin had sent them, awaiting Eren’s arrival from dropping the child off. It was nice to know that the teen could in fact be a good asset if he put his mind to it. It was just a shame he couldn’t seem to follow, even though he could lead pretty well. Levi wasn’t completely sure how that was going to work out for the both of them. They both seemed to have dominant personalities when it came to both aspects of their life. Maybe throwing him a hunt to lead every once in a while would be a good thing, a good learning curve for the both of them. It meant Levi could take it easy and that Eren would be able to flex his leadership muscles on hunts that he wasn’t going to get them killed on. And work their way from there… Maybe… he didn’t quite know if he was going to be able to cope with that, though.

 

"Dropped the kid off safe, sir. Well, unless the hospital staff are going to murder him in his sleep."  
Eren’s voice drew him out of his thoughts, as he looked cross the city. The kid had been speedy in his task and that made him slightly happier.

 

“Let’s hope they don’t.”Levi looked from his vantage point on the edge of the roof, stepping down and walking closer to the other Nephilim. “There’s three confirmed, maybe an extra one. Few floors down. Work as a team, this time, please.”He headed towards the door that would take them down, knife and gun in hand, sword at his hip. He pushed through it, heading quickly down the stairs, then again to get to the desired floor, heading to the end of the hall, looking at all the door numbers as he went past it. He waited outside the door, wings hidden on their way there, looking to Eren. He saw the Nephilim nod to him, and then the yell sounded from the apartment. Eren was past him quicker than he could blink and he swore under his breath. Fucking brat needed to calm down.

 

He entered the room after him, shouting quickly to the only one not a demon in the room. “Out. Now.”He bolted to the door, Eren taking down the demon that chased after the human running out the door. His eyes scanned quickly, seeing four, and Eren had already taken down one of them as it dropped to the floor. They all seemed to converge on the teen, Levi joining the fray and ripping one off his hunting partner, who seemed hell bent on ignoring one of the three demons on him. The one he dragged off the Nephilim started to assault him instead, Levi stabbing with precision and doing his best to avoid the blood that sprayed from the demons chest, managing to get some on to his jackets sleeve. Thankfully nowhere else. It fell to the floor, Levi jumping back in to the now lone demon, Eren backing away from it. “For fucks sake,”he grabbed at the other demon, swiping his leg underneath, mouth beginning to roll off well practiced Latin, but the smoke abandoned the body before he had chance to finish. “Fuck, Eren.” He moved off the unconscious body quickly, sheathing his weapons. “You need to act quicker than that. And what the fuck do you think _team_ means?!”He stormed out the room, gesturing for Eren to follow, heading back to the roof.

 

He took off quickly, shaking his arms out before his wings caught the wind and carried him back towards HQ, looking to make damn sure Eren was following, pleased he was and that he didn’t need to go drag his ass with him. 15 minutes later, he landed on the roof of HQ, turning to see Eren doing the same, a thunderous look on his face.   
  
“The hell were you thinking?! Rushing in there the way that you did! You could have got yourself killed.”

"That doesn't matter." Eren replied calmly, folding his arms. It was clear from his expression that as far as he was concerned he'd done nothing out of the ordinary or wrong. "And we're not a team, sir. Partnering up does not equal teamwork." he replied, his tone still respectful despite his clear inner annoyance. "The only reason we aren't hunting individually is red tape, anyway."

 

“You are such a child. How can you not see the bigger picture here??”  
"I'm beginning to think I'm the only one who actually does. I already know where I'm going the next time I die and I'm not scared of doing it anymore. But the people we're all here to save don't have a clue. I'd love to know how caring about that makes me childish."

 

“Because if you try and save everyone, not only are you going to get yourself killed because you don’t think about anything other than getting someone out, you’re going to get the person you’re hunting with _killed_. And that’s _me_ right now. You need to grow up and not be so blind sighted.”His hands clenched in to fists at his sides, his wings twitching with the anger running through him. He couldn’t understand how Eren could think the way he did, could act on such impulse and not realize he wasn’t just fighting for the people they were trying to save, but for himself and every other Nephilim out there. The more Eren made errors, the more it put Levi’s life on the line, or whoever he was fighting with for that matter. He dreaded to think about if Armin was hunting with him. Though that thought sparked a few choice words in his mind.

 

"You can cope on your own, can't you? Having however many years of experience has its advantages, I'm sure. I'm not the person who doesn’t want to see these things from a human's point of view. The only reason we get this chance is so save them, and have you ever stopped to see how scared and desperate they always are? So yes, I'm going to go straight in. That's something that isn't going to stop. If I get hurt then I'll just have to deal with it. I can't guarantee anyone else's safety, and I don't expect whoever I'm working with to do that for me either. It's their decision whether to follow me or not." He chose to ignore the start. He could cope on his own, the only reason he was having to hunt with people was Erwin and Hanji’s obsession to try and find him a partner that had a hunting style that was compatible with his own. He had no reason why. In all fairness, it didn’t feel like just anger towards Eren, coming out now, but to Erwin as well, but he couldn’tbring himself to care right now.

 

“You should _want_ to guarantee someone their safety!! It’s not a decision, it’s a fucking _order_. Whoever you are hunting with isn’t going to want any harm to come to you. What if Kirstein was with you? Or Arlett?! What then? You going to rush in guns blazing and hope they don’t follow you in to harm’s way??”

 

"With all due respect, they both know a lot more about me than you do. So yes, yes I would. It's never been a problem with Jean because he's exactly the damn same, and Armin doesn't hunt with me anyway, not really. Don't think bringing my friends into this is going to change anything." It was a nice look, under the hood so to speak, it clearly showing now that Eren had next to no self-preservation, and that was a bad combination in Levi’s eyes. Maybe that would change if he lost someone this side of life. He was pretty new to everything, after all, Levi on the other hand…he’d had to suffer to get to where he was.

 

“Fuck me, Eren. It _should_ change things. You aren’t just fighting for the humans here! Would you want the person you’re hunting with to die? To be _killed_? Because if keeping your own kind alive _isn_ _’t_ a priority, you shouldn’t be here. You don’t have a fucking right to still be breathing.”   


"Aren't we all dead already? Isn't that the whole point? So no-one actually alive and still important has to die? If you think I don't have the right to still breathe then I suggest we either agree to disagree or you come here and do it yourself. Save everyone the trouble of having to put up with me being 'childish'.”   
  
That was so far _beyond_ the point, his body worked the same as it used to, just with the extra shield of being half angelic. He would die if he stopped breathing, if he sustained an injury that his body couldn’t handle.  
Levi moved like a snake, a knife in his hand as he tackled Eren to the floor, shifting, as Eren didn’t exactly go down without a fight. A struggle and a half later, Levi was on top, straddling his hips and pinning him to the floor, knife at his throat.   
  
“Don’t tempt me, because I fucking will, brat. You’re here because you _are_ important. You don’t just get an automatic pass in to the Nephilim clubhouse. You’re here because you did something to single you out in your last life. Don’t fucking waste a god sent _second chance_.”He pressed the knife in to the flesh more, drawing a thin line of blood from the others throat, a hiss passing through Eren’s teeth. “Fucking grow up, and face this life with a pair of balls. Don’t throw it away just because you happen to have died a year ago.”

 

A grin broke out across Eren’s face, one he wasn’t expecting. Hands were placed on the floor and he pressed slowly upwards with his neck. The edge of his knife was brought more harshly against his skin, and he knew if he didn’t move it, he’d slice his throat quite cleanly. Green eyes locked onto Levi's in a definite challenge that said ‘try it or go home’.

 

"Do it." he muttered, his tone a low. The growl that left Eren’s throat as he spoke the words, if anything, made him angrier. It was a dangerous growl that hinted that if Levi didn't move he risked being flipped himself. He couldn’t help but notice that Eren was blushing heavily now, as well. "I deserve it." He removed the knife quickly, it clutching within his hand, Levi leant forwards to lean on both sets of knuckles.   
  
“How can you not see that you _don't_ deserve it? That you are worthy of being here.”His wings curled inwards slightly, his hands either side of Eren’s head, and a split second later, he was off him, wings beating and taking him in to the air, Levi touching down feet away, near the door that would take them down in to Head Quarters. “Get with the program already, or just leave.”He gestured with his arm to the sky, quite prepared to turn around and head down to his office and get himself a drink, because he couldn’t take much more of this. “It’s like telling a brick wall that it’s worth it, and it’s doing a great job, but can’t take anything in.”

 

If all went to plan, Eren would let him open the door, and walk through it, because he was done arguing, don’t being angry. It was practically out his system and honestly? He felt like he could even look at Erwin and not cringe now. Eren on the other hand, he couldn’t talk to someone who didn’t think they were worth anything, even when told.

 

"Hey Armin, I know they swopped us around but I'm pretty sure I just scared him off anyway."

 

He got halfway down the stairs before he heard Eren’s voice again, looking to the top of the stairs where the door was still open. The kid just didn’t get it. He sighed, debating whether or not to go back up and keep shouting again, because his point clearly hadn’t been got across as he heard Armin’s worried voice sounding quietly. He took a few more steps down, before he shook his head, he couldn’t. He couldn’t walk away after hearing that. He made his way back up, carefully opening the door fully, it having closed halfway.

 

“Eren hang up.”Said Nephilim looked to him, not moving. Levi wasn’t waiting. “Arlett hang up, that’s an order.”It didn’t take long for him to hear the tell tale click, knowing full well that Armin wasn’t about to disobey a direct order. “You really think that scared me off? I’m just done with your shit right now. Takes more than that to get rid of me. No one has managed it yet, but sure, you could try and be the first.”He leant against the doorframe as he spoke, eyes on the red line on Eren’s neck, still holding the knife in his hand as he folded his arms across his chest.

 

Eren looked up at him leant against the door frame, slightly upside down, and then shrugged, using the weight generated by coiling his legs up and then shifting them down under him to get him back into a standing position, flipping over. He advanced on him without hesitation, pressing him in to the wall and still smirking.

 

"Oh, I will." he replied, voice fiery but still low enough to sound dangerous. "Give it enough time and you'll give up like everyone else. In case you hadn't noticed I have a little problem with giving a shit about authority... and it's not like you can scare the suicidal, is it?" Eren tilted his head, a cocky, lopsided smirk on his face as he posed the question. His face was inches from Levi's as he blocked him from coming any further back outside with a hand either side of him and his body leant against the door frame.

 

“Suicidal?”Levi tested the word on his lips, looking up to Eren’s face given he was so close, sliding his back against the doorframe so he was stood properly, caged in by his arms and body. He managed to sheath the knife back on to his harness as Eren nodded, though, getting it out of harms way. “You really don’t think you deserve to be here do you?”The teen looked between his eyes, Levi seeing the green flick side to side, not answering, and it made Levi’s anger bubble back to the surface, his arm reaching out to thread up and through Eren’s hair, pulling it back as he pushed with his free hand, then swiped his right leg against Eren’s left quickly, dropping him to his knees, his hand only increasing its grip. “Shall I take that thought from you? Shall I take that chance out of your hands?”   


"If I remembered it on the other side I'm sure I'd be honoured to say yes. And you already know I'm not lying. Scared yet?"

 

“Not a chance. I’m more intrigued as to why you have such little self-worth, actually.”

"Then you'll have to stay that way. It's my problem, not yours."

“You’re currently under my charge, which makes it my problem.”

"Then find someone else, because we already know how it will end. I'm sure you're on good enough terms with our commander to get that kind of special treatment."

 

That did it. His hand moved quickly, letting go and colliding with Eren’s face, causing the teen to go sideways, catching himself on to his hand, not quite going to the floor. Levi rectified that, kicking the Nephilim in the side he fell towards, making him fall on to his ass. He boot soon hit the middle of Eren’s chest, sending him backwards. “You don’t fucking get to comment on him.”He pushed the flat of his sole over Eren’s heart, watching as hands came up to hold his ankle and boot loosely. “You don’t fucking get to comment on anything, until you can listen and take note of someone telling you you are fucking worth it.”The words were met with a glare as Eren curled one hand around his ankle as he pressed his foot down above his heart to pin him.

 

"You can lead a horse to water." Eren taunted, turning his head to the side to spit out a mouthful of blood before wiping his lips on his sleeve. "Trust me, I'd know. Did I touch a nerve, sir? Are you lecturing me for not being good enough because you want to take your mind off the fact a certain someone doesn't think you are?" His eyes closed, and even taking a few seconds to try and erase that from his brain didn’t help, his body shifting more weight in to the leg keeping Eren to the floor. His eyes slowly opened, looking to the hands around his ankle and foot. He licked his lips. The smirk on the younger Nephilim’s face wasn’t one that was helping keep the anger from rising any further, and he couldn’t help it, couldn’t help but kick his foot forwards, catching Eren’s jaw, just enough to hurt, but not enough to snap anything. His sole slid and pressed in to Eren’s throat, holding it but not cutting off his breathing overly much.

 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

"The fact it got a reaction out of you was all I needed to know." He knew at this point that he wasn’t going to avoid getting a talking to from anyone that saw Eren, and he doubted people wouldn’t take the chance. The injuries would help, but not as quickly as they needed to for Levi to avoid a lashing from Erwin or Hanji.

 

His foot moved, bending down and grabbing the strap across Eren’s chest, pulling him up off the floor quickly and back on to his knees, his other hand itching to reach for his gun, and it showed. But he restrained, hand fisting in to Eren’s hair to pull his head backwards, the harness pulling towards his legs as he did so, watching the teen flinch at the action. “You don’t, you can’t know. Because you don’t know what worth _is_. You’ve thrown it away from yourself and you’ve lost the meaning. You don’t know.”

 

"And what? Are you going to educate me, Corporal?" he looked down, the silky tone hitting his ears, causing him to frown slightly as his body moved down, keeping himself away from the blood across Eren’s face, to make sure none got on him, his hands still in place to not let Eren move forwards.

 

“Do you want me to? I could teach you a thing or two, Jaeger, in that I have no doubt.”

"Not in this context and maybe after a few drinks.”

“Maybe not even then.”His voice became like ice, having taken on a silky tone as Eren’s. “If you don’t think you’re worth anything, why bother teaching you anything, in any context.”He pushed with his hands, sending Eren to the floor, standing after he did so, wiping his hands together. “Run back to your fuck buddy, maybe he can tell you you’re worth and you _actually_ believe it.”He turned on his heel there, quick to leave, quick to make it down the stairs and out of ear shot, not wanting to hear anything else from the teen’s mouth.

 

It didn’t take him long to be walking through his office door and slamming it shut, it sounding throughout the hall. He ripped his jacket off him and threw it on to the sofa as he passed it, leaning against the glass wall that served as a window to the city below and breathing somewhat heavily, trying to calm himself down enough that he would be able to fly home without flying for hours on end and exhausting himself. If not, he’d definitely be sleeping in his office or downstairs if he made it that far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just in case anyone didn't get the abbreviations:  
> LCLR = Lance Corporal Levi Rivaille  
> COES = Commanding Officer Erwin Smith.
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of Ereri yumminess to relieve a little bit of face rearranging? :P
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

Not sleeping well would have been an understatement, having woke up on the sofa in his office, with Erwin watching him from his doorway. “It’s even creepier now we aren’t together, Erwin.” Said blonde stayed quiet and Levi pushed a hand through his hair and then ran it down his face, his undercut hairstyle rather out of place. “Either say something or just leave..”  


“Why are you sleeping here?” Levi looked up from the floor as he stood up, having managed to sleep in his harness. Man was he going to be bruised, because it wasn’t exactly loose.

  
“Because if I made my own way home I wouldn’t have got there?”  
“I’m reassigning him.”   
“Hanji will just put him back with me.”  
“One who’s order?”  
“Her own.” He looked towards the blonde with a rather exasperated expression. “Just leave it. If Jaeger doesn’t want to hunt with my anymore, that’s his choice. I thought you weren’t going to get involved?”  
“I’m starting to think that was a bad idea.”  
“Leaving me or staying on the side lines??”   
“Both.” Levi stopped as he made his way to his desk, barely getting there as he leant forwards, sighing.  
“Go, Erwin, you’ll regret this later. We both will.” When he didn’t hear movement, he looked over his shoulder, to see a frown on the older males face. “Please? If you even remotely still care, you’ll leave. I’m really not in the mood for this.”

  
“Don’t ever imply that I don’t care, Levi.” He pushed off the doorframe and left, Levi seeing him get his phone out of his pocket, leaving the door open. He sighed, quite glad he had a change of clothes here as he stood up straight, stretching out his muscles painfully, before starting to undo his harness as he headed downstairs to shower.   
  
At least he felt better than yesterday. Eren had managed to grate on his last nerve so quickly, all he’d done was snap. It had been quite some time since someone had made him snap that badly. It wasn’t like he regretted it, far from it to be honest. If Eren was going to be a whining little bitch with zero concern for his own life, he’d treat him as such, but he wish it had ended better than it did. There was no way out of this for Eren, Hanji wouldn’t allow that to happen no matter how much Erwin said he’d pull the strings and cross the t’s on paperwork. If Levi didn’t want it happening… end of story. Eren was stuck with him.  
  
Even if Levi did want it to happen, Hanji would still probably just look at him and smile and give him a firm ‘no’, given that she was all excited for this to happen.

 

A few hours later, he was sat, stone faced and staring at a bright computer screen, doing absolutely nothing and doing his best at keeping his mind completely blank. Thst was until a knock at his door sounded, pulling him out of the exercise of thinking of blankness. He watched his door open, and suppressed the sigh as he saw Armin walk through it. Yes because he was _just_ the person he wanted to see today… "Excuse me for interrupting, Lance Corporal, but do you mind if I come in? It's about Eren."  


“I’d have been ok with that, before you said Jaegers name, Arlett. I _really_ don’t have time to listen to a sad story about your friend.” Because he was very, _very_ busy behind his computer’s blank screen...

  
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have done what you did last night, sir." he replied firmly, his eyes removed from Levi's but his voice strong and polite nonetheless. "You don't know him like I do, and I'm guessing he's sporting a nice collection of bruises because he lashed out at you last night."  


"Astute observation."

 

"If he's lashing out, it’s because you got too close to the real him last night. It means he's scared and he doesn't know how to cope." Armin continued, leaning forward to rest his hands on the edge of the desk and sigh, glancing down at them. "He values your opinion a lot more than he's willing to admit.. and if he's said anything self deprecating then you should know that it's because he's still feeling guilty because he couldn't save his parents. They were murdered in front of him in cold blood, and he only took this.. 'second chance'.. or whatever this is in order to avenge them." Not that he’d checked, but he knew full well that the circumstances of their deaths and acceptance in to this life wasn't kept in their files in order to prevent people with access to them abusing the information to coerce anyone else with their own painful pasts. "That's why he's a reckless idiot, and he needs someone to train him out of it. I can't do it, and neither could Mikasa. He won't listen to us. But perhaps you can."

  
"He's made it quite clear he's not going to let me, Arlett." He span in his chair slightly, so he was side on to the desk, leaning backwards and placing his left arm on to the desk in front of his keyboard, lounging quite openly as his chair tilted back slightly with his weight.  


"Sorry if I sound like Jean.. but when last I checked you weren't the kind of person who required permission for that kind of thing. Eren needs someone to stop himself destructing and if you didn't at least care a little bit you wouldn't have let Hanji interrupt my doing him a favour, so don't try and wave me off."  


"Hey..." He frowned slightly, eyes still trained on Armin, "me rearranging the kids face wasn't me brushing him off, I fully intend to drag him out kicking and screaming if he doesn't show up for the next job we’re assigned. But me _trying_ to do my job and him _letting_ me are two different things." There was only so much teaching you could give to a brick wall before it crumbled.   
His frown was still in place as he finished, though his eyes wandered, taking in the posture and the formal nature that was the Nephilim before him. He wasn't one to argue with it, though, if Armin was more comfortable this way. He wasn't the hard ass on formalities such as this like Erwin was.

 

"You say 'letting' like you intend to give him a choice, sir. I'd suggest not doing that. Incase it wasn't already obvious I don't think he'll put up that much of a struggle once he accepts that you aren't backing down."  


"And exactly just how long will that take? My patience isn't infinite, Arlett. I don't intend on waiting for him to submit forever." He smirked at the last few words, looking away from Armin as his computer beeped, seeing a message from Hanji, looking back as the voice of his guest hit his ears.  
 

"His patience isn't infinite either. It took Jean two weeks of nagging and a bottle of tequila, and that was when he was dead set on shutting him out after the last time they had a throw down. I know you've seen the sketchbook, and I'd bet good money you can do better than that. You mean more to him already, you have done for months - he just doesn't know how to deal with that yet. When he does you'll have a hunting partner for life, and one you can count on to be able to keep up, at that." His mind was on the pictures he'd seen in Eren's sketchbook, still wishing he could see a final product of one of his drawings, though probably not of himself. He smiled slightly, a genuine smile slipping through the cracks, half forgetting Armin was there as he looked to his fingers, gently tapping the desk. He wasn't on Eren's level of the kid meaning something more to him, or at least he didn't think he was, but he could do with a hunting partner that was going to stick, and he'd seen potential from the get go. He just hadn't estimated just how much he'd seen.   


"I'll make sure to have the tequila on standby, then."

  
"I'm sure you will sir. Just don't tell him I told you that. I need to get back and make sure he isn't raiding my fridge. And be careful, Eren's.. well. A cuddly drunk."  
"I’m pretty sure I‘ve handled worse." It gained him a small smile and a small nod once before Armin turned to leave, the blond stopping upon hearing Levi's voice, about to leave the room. "Thank you, Arlett." A smile was sent his way from the doorway, the blond soon disappearing and closing the door behind him.

 

These kids were going to be the death of him, he was certain of it. Or at least his second death, anyway. People were pushing quite hard for himself and this brat to be able to work together. Though he sensed in more ways than one as he stared at his office door, thinking on what Armin has said. He was wondering what people had to gain in seeing them as permanent partners. But when he thought about it, he could see the benefits. He'd never had a hunting partner as constant as Hanji, and that was every other year. The only ones that had lasted longer was his old team, lasting a fair few decades as a Special Operations team, doing the dirty work that no one else would even consider. He sighed, thinking about that just threw in to light why he hadn't had a hunting partner that was more constant than the people that had stood at his sides in two lifetimes. His eyes looked to his computer, hand going to his mouse and clicking on to Hanji's message, the woman asking why Arlett was heading towards his office.   
  
He responded, telling her the bare minimum of him wanting to ask a question, and then grabbed his phone, messaging Eren quickly.  


 

_'Get your ass to HQ, brat. You have sparring training in an hour. If you don't show and you make me drag you there, it won’t be pretty. - L.C Rivaille'_

 

 

 

 

He didn't know what to think right now. His brain was in two minds and he couldn't stop it. Half of it was on Eren and what he'd said to him last night, goading him with his words, Levi finally snapping when he rounded on his and Erwin's now ended relationship. The other half on Erwin himself and how messed up he felt over the blonde, work, Eren and anything else he had to worry about.

 

That was why he was definitely going to take a different approach. He was going to treat Eren exactly like he would anyone else. _No exceptions._

 

He wasn't going to be given the option of walking away from him. If he did, he'd be there. If he even thought about it, he'd be there. Armin had been right, and he couldn't fathom why he was letting Eren have this kind of affect him. No chance was that continuing, as much as he wanted a hunting partner that would stick, he didn't think letting Eren make up his mind on that was going to change any decisions. He'd need to force him.

 

Which was why, almost an hour later, he was leaning back against the wall in one of the larger training rooms, ankles crossed, and his arms crossed across his chest, waiting for the brat to either be late, early, or stand him up. He was banking on being stood up, in all fairness, and was pleasantly surprised when Eren walked in almost bang on time. He observed the salute, uncrossing his ankles as he looked towards the teen, observing his form, wondering how long he'd stay there if he didn't give him instruction. Thankfully, he was saved by one of his fellows. "And here's the training ro-oh wait, Marco, we totally have to watch this. Our resident nutjob Jaeger here's going to get his ass whooped by one of our strongest fighters for being a little shit. Should be a good combat lesson."

"Can it, Jean. I'm not going anywhere today."

 

He observed Jean taking a seat, his friend following with him. Levi recognised him from a recent internet based conversation with Hanji about a new recruit that would be perfect for Jean to show around and mentor for a while. Levi himself had outright laughed at the idea of Jean mentoring anyone, then thought about his own people skills.   
  
"He is right though." He pushed off the wall, walking past Eren towards the middle of the mat, his shoes and socks already off. He was in a figure hugging black sports top accompanied by a pair of black slacks that were similar in style to his hunting uniform trousers, but being made of a lighter and thinner material. His harness was over everything, the straps tightly pulled in to place. The elastic over his feet clearly showed just how often he wore it, slight bruising on the sides were it slipped from its usual place as he walked across the mat. He hadn’t bothered with the pads underneath since he didn’t have his boots on and they were on a nicely cushioned mat. "You are a perfect example of a little shit that needs proper discipline in his life." He heard Jean scoff behind him as he rolled his shoulders, flexing his arms slightly. He'd already warmed his body through once he got here, having ran through drills that he normally would when conducting a class. Which was something he hadn't done for quite some time, now he thought about it.

 

"With all due respect, sir," he replied, it clear from his tone that the 'respect' he purportedly had was precisely nowhere to be found in him, "you're not going to teach me anything I haven't already learnt from Mikasa and Annie if we're just sparring." He headed over, rolling one shoulder then the other and taking a few deep breaths to psyche himself up. "If I didn't have discipline I wouldn't have made it through the training in the first place."

 

"With the only notable word of comment from your instructors being, 'hardworking.'" They were circling each other now, testing each other out, expressions equally blank as they carefully watched the reactions their small movements closer or further back gained.

"Hard work can be applied in any area, rather than just one." he replied, shrugging slightly. "So I'm actually quite proud of that comment."

"You might be hardworking, kid, but that certainly doesn't lead to ‘disciplined’. If that's all you have to be proud of from your time in basic training, you've done something wrong."

 

He ignored the quiet catcall of "Ooooh, burn!" from Jean in the background, looking Eren up and down, sizing him up, gauging his emotions. He knew he was only serving to piss him off, and that’s what he wanted. He wanted to push him as much as he could. He needed to see where Eren could go, what he could do if he allowed himself.  


"Then go ahead, waste your time. We both know how it'll end."

 

He made a quiet sound of agreement, knowing full well that Eren most likely wasn't going to hold back on him, especially not after last night. And that was something he was banking on. "Care to enlighten me on how this will play out, then, Jaeger?" He was glad the kid seemed to be still confident after last night. After all the things he'd said to rile him up, causing him to lash out in a way he hadn't for quite some time, he still had the outwards bravado that Levi was itching to correct.  


"We hurt each other for a bit and then we go home. Nothing demonic dies in the process, so neither of us make any productive use of today."

"Interesting deduction. Though you have missed a key factor." He stopped moving, his back to Jean and Marco once more, his fingers flexing as he took a stance with his right foot forwards, trying to get in to the mind set of pooling demonic fighting techniques in to his own. Eren had yet to see his style for long, nowhere near enough to know how he fought hand to hand. "I don't ever waste my time on lack of productivity." His stance became defensive, clearly about to let Eren take the first steps in this dance. "If you still think you are just a dead human, you shouldn't have a problem with not using your wings. So be a good little brat and keep them hidden."

 

Levi smirked as Eren started on the offensive. That mind set was definitely something he'd be changing the second he was able. He blocked effortlessly once Eren began to attack, the blows predictable and clearly not thought out at all. Levi didn't think Eren was taking this seriously, purely because of the words he spoke earlier about this being a waste of time.

 

A few minutes passed, Levi blocking and doing no more to advance in to an attack. He could see Eren was getting frustrated and he smirked as he ducked from a wild haymaker that was dripping of humanity it wasn't even real. He was quick to take up the offensive, forcing Eren in to a defensive stance and style, and it didn't take long, after Levi landed several blows for a cascade of feathers to erupt around them, blue black wings fanning out behind the Nephilm to keep himself balanced to save a tumble to the floor. He backed off and Eren didn't relent much to his surprise, coming back at him with force now his wings were out and giving him the stability to almost glide across the floor with next to no effort.

 

Levi's were still hidden, but he could feel his, he had the discipline to use them when they weren't even showing, and he used that to his advantage. He ducked and dodged before his barefoot connected with the tip of Eren's left wing, kicking it away and hearing Eren hiss slightly as the action pushed the feathers in an unaligned state with the surrounding area.

 

Levi was quick to drive him backwards, barely out of breath at this point, his stamina shining through. But once Eren knew that a blow was about to land him on his ass, wings beat behind him, taking him in to the air, only for Levi having been waiting for it, a hand gripping his ankle and tugging, a snarl passing Eren’s lips at the extremely demonic move.

 

He pulled with force to bring Eren to the mat, his other hand curling in to his shirt and pulling, manhandling him quickly to twist him, the teen scrambling to get away and to kick and punch his way from the shorter male now pressing his barefoot in to the small of Eren's back, hands clutching the bones halfway up either wing, pulling and making Eren whine.

 

"You..." He was panting now, with the force of having to bring Eren out of the air and back to the floor. "Are not human. A Nephilim without its wings is a play toy to a demon." He pulled slightly for emphasis, hearing the groan of slight pain that was clearly trying to be muffled. "You're wings are for you to _protect_. Without them you are as good as finished, in the eyes of a demon. A grounded Nephilim is a fucking _dead one_."

 

Levi let go as quickly as he'd made the grasp in the first place. He took his foot from the bottom of Eren's back and walked away, turning back as the other got up. "You do not use them to cheat a fight, to take the easy way out. The second a demon can see your wings and you are on the ground, they are being ripped off." He turned to face Eren as he glared in his general direction, rolling his shoulders as he responded to it with a glare of his own. "Now stop being a child. Wings away.. _Again_." his voice was a growl as he spoke the last words, lifting his hands up to his face and taking a defensive stance.

 

"Fine." Eren ground out in response, testing his wings once or twice to check they weren't sprained anywhere and would still be able to support his weight in the air before hiding them. "You want to play, then I'll be your 'play toy'. You still won't win."

 

Eren rolled his shoulders, glaring his way and it made a smirk curl on to his lips as he dropped in to a defensive stance once again. He was counting down the minutes till Eren took flight again, and he knew he wouldn’t disappoint him and disobey the command. They fell back to circling, testing, and this time Eren was being a lot more careful to just dodge aftyer falling in to a defensive stance, forcing Levi to take the offensive.

 

"Getting tired?" he asked, smirking. That expression alone caused him to hone his attacks. Stamina wasn’t his issue here and he ignored the slight jab. Frustration was. He had to admit, he'd fumbled slightly with the little trick Eren pulled with his wings, the teen using them to ghost himself away in a fraction of a second of them showing but he recovered quickly, not the least bit surprised that Eren flew up more often than not to avoid his attacks.

 

One in particularly set him hurtling upwards and out of his reach. He'd gone for a cheap jab at the black blue feathers. "You are just giving my time to recover. You will wear yourself out quicker than me being up there." He watched as Eren landed on the balcony, hanging off it with his wings beating slowly every now and then. "The more you run the more time you give the enemy to win." he glanced away, to Jean and Marco who were looking up towards Eren, and their slight flinch at the free fall he entered in to giving him away.

 

Levi did a quick roll away, taking the fall in to his shoulders before he was stood up with his fists clenched by his sides. "Stop trying to stop me and _fucking stop me_ already." He knew that Eren was capable of it, and the only way he was going to do it was giving in to the fact that flying wasn't an option in this case. Levi wasn’t going to use his own to follow him, he’d made that clear. He'd be quick to pin him if he gave in to that fact. Eren needed to get this, because god forbid that if he couldn't use his wings, Levi honestly felt like he'd be lost. Being Nephilim didn't mean that you had to solely use your wings. You were given other abilities and senses to rely on, and you needed to master than all to be able to have a fighting chance.

 

"I'm not running anywhere." he replied, brushing the taunting off. It was obvious he was a little out of breath but he wasn't about to give up, resuming his defensive stance.

 

Using his wings to boost his momentum, Eren suddenly shot forward and took a firm hold of of his shoulder, aiming a sweeping kick at the back of his leg that allowed him to completely flip the older Nephilim, having adjusted his body so that he would fall correctly. Levi knew the move, he'd partnered with Annie long enough to know it. It was one she used frequently. He'd let Eren have the moment, since it would be rather short lived. Just because he was pinned didn't mean he was useless.

 

Eren needed to get out of this mind set of thinking such things were a waste of time. Just because they weren't killing something, didn't mean you couldn't learn from a good workout such as the one they were currently participating in.

 

He fell with the momentum, falling on to the mat with his shoulders as Eren's hand grabbed and pulled and managing to pin his wrists above his head, looking rather pleased with himself as it appeared Levi was immobilised. That was the first mistake the other made. "If you wanted to be on top, all you had to do was ask." Without letting Eren respond to his rather sighed words, he bucked his hips, sending him forwards slightly on to his stomach and he was quick to lift his legs, hooking his calves over the teen’s wings and his feet back up and under the limbs at the base. The look of concentration that crossed his face as he eyes slid passed Eren’s face was on that clearly showed it wasn’t his first time doing this. He didn’t want to hurt Eren at all, and he had to concentrate for that, if he moved wrong, he’d damage a wing because he couldn’t see them. The feathers were soft against his skin, a rather welcoming feeling as he pulled slightly as his thighs gripped Eren's sides tightly. He noticed Eren had frozen, the grip on his wrist almost at the point where bones would break if he moved them too quickly. "Soft." He flexed his toes, skimming the feathers with a smug smirk across his face.

 

"Like you'd let me top you.” he hissed. “Clearly you're too fast for that."

"Never know. I might be convinced to slow down." Came the leisurely reply, Levi amused by the fact he’d been forced him to completely lock up bar the running commentary. Suddenly he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to punch that smug smirk off his face or kiss it away, and he blushed heavily at the traitorous thought, wondering where the hell it had come from. Hopefully Eren would put it down to the heat of training.

 

"Old age will do that to you, I hear." Levi tightened and pulled the wings still trapped in his grip and Eren was forced to let out a pained groan in response to the taunt he obviously couldn’t help but give.

 

"Didn't stop me getting you in such a hold though did it?"  
“Let me go.” His smirk grew more at the sound of Eren's voice and the teen slumping forwards. The breath against his neck sent his eyes closed, breathing in and out deeply before opening then to stare at the high ceiling.

 

"You two really need to get a room."

"Weren't you on a _tour_ , Kirst-neigh?" He laughed slightly as he flexed his fingers idly, wrists still being pinned in to the matting by Eren's steel grip. He heard grumbling and soon feet scuffing the none matted part of the floor. He heard Jean speak as he led Marco out under his breath, and he could have sworn it was something about sexual tension, but he honestly didn't care. "You don't sound very convincing, Jaeger."

 

"Shut up. I don't have to convince you of anything." He still sounded somewhat pathetic as he spoke, his voice muffled by his neck, feeling the hot breath as the teen spoke against his neck, causing goose bumps to erupt across the expanse of his skin.  


"Poor baby..." His toes flexed again against the feathers, feeling the softness as his toes drew down across them, thighs increasing his hold. He didn't think Eren actually realised how flexible he was given the hold he currently had had made the teen slump forwards. He also didn't think that Eren realised just how easy it was for a Nephilim to get out of this hold. Clearly, he wasn't wasting his time. "Are you sure about that?"

 

His voice had dropped low, his breathing steady as his grip held strong, Levi making damn sure to avoid anything that might set of a wave of something he didn't quite want to flood the Nephilim's system. If Eren were to hide his wings, his feet would ultimately slip from the wings, and he'd effectively be out of the hold and able to move freely once Eren moved his wings downwards. He wouldn’t’ be able to see to keep the correct hold.

This was the whole point. Eren couldn't afford to not protect every aspect of himself, his wings included. If he were demon, no matter what Eren would have tried to do, stab or shoot him most likely, his wings would have been snapped the second his legs had curled around them. He wouldn't have had the chance to react, the pain that would have flooded his body would have incapacitated him, even if he had been lucky enough to get a stab in.

 

"Pretty sure you're cheating now."  


"And who's been cheating and not listening to me since we started? Hmm?" he spoke quietly, tilting his head as he did so to speak directly in to Eren's ear in a low tone. "You've not been listening, otherwise you wouldn't be in such a predicament, kid."

 

"Maybe I'll listen when you have something to say here that's worth listening to." he replied hotly. "All I've been doing is treating this like I would any other fight. But if you're going to cheat.."

 

Eren released his wrists and he felt the blood rush to his fingers, making his hangs slightly tingly as he moved his arms to his sides quickly, ready to start the fight anew.. that was until lips connected with his neck and he froze. Completely froze as the lips travelled higher. This wasn't how you fought demons. No. _Not at all._

 

His hands ended up resting gently on Eren's shoulders, as lips kissed at his jaw, getting closer and closer to their clear destination. His mind was whirring, he couldn't understand why Eren was doing what he was doing... and why he wasn't stopping him doing it.

Lips pressed against his own and his eyes closed on contact, hands increasing their grip slightly. He almost pushed him away, but he figured muscle memory would be the one to give the brat a shock.

 

Hands threaded up in to the brown strands of Eren's hair gently, his left hand cupping the teens jaw as he slowed the kiss right down, his lips parting as Eren's did, quick to nip the teens lips and tilt his head enough to make the kiss a little heated, but not in any way deep, just a gentle brush of tongue every now and then.

 

He was soon pushing up against Eren's jaw, putting a few inches between them, his legs still firmly holding the teen in place. He licked his lips slowly, seeing the panic starting to form within the sea green eyes darting back and forth between his own. "All you had to do was hide your wings, **_brat_**." He pointed his toes as his legs straightened, widening as they slipped over Eren's wings. "And that hold wouldn't have bothered you." Eren moved off him quickly and Levi rolled backwards, legs overhead and ended up pushing himself up in to a crouch, then pushing himself up to standing, stretching his arms over his head, the leather of the harness sounding its slight protest. "But screw it. When you've done being a child, come see me." He turned on his heel as he spoke, scooping up his boots on his way out the door, leaving his jacket on the bench that Marco and Jean had been sat on.

 

He figured it would take some time before Eren unfroze and got past what had just happened, so he took his time on his way to his office, lounging back in the elevator and then heading down the corridor slowly. He was fully intending on grabbing his bag and heading to grab a shower straight away, wanting to get the sweat off his skin. He was halfway through checking he had everything he needed in his gym bag before his door burst open, Eren huffing as he came through. Levi looked up slowly, not having expected to see Eren this side of dinner. Fists were clenched at his side and he was doing everything he could to not speak through clenched teeth, by the looks of things.

 

"What the hell was that back there?!" he demanded. "You were supposed to kick my ass again and run off creeped out, not whatever.. that.. was!" His mind was still rather fully of the instant reaction he had to Eren's lips on his skin. Levi had reacted as he would with Erwin, his mind going blank to it. He hated himself for it, but it had happened now, and he'd thought that Eren wouldn't come storming in to his office like he currently was doing, demanding answers. He didn't rightly know how to respond, hopefully being outwardly unaffected.

 

"Think it'd be unfair to kick a child’s ass for being curious." Yes, yes that’s how he could spin this. Even though he knew full well that if Eren had been remotely curious, it had been satisfied with Jean. He had to wonder why Eren was making such a big deal about a kiss. It was just a kiss. If anyone had the right to be blowing this out of proportion, it was him. Levi was the one that had fell 'victim' to the kiss after all, days after getting out of a semi-serious long term relationship with their Commander in Chief.

 

"The only thing I'm 'curious' about is why you didn't freak out. You knew what I was doing. Why'd you react like that?"

 

"You really think I'm going to tell you?"

 

"Well I'd wager you won't like it if I have to take guesses. So yes."

 

"I dunno.." He moved to sit down as he spoke, kicking his bare feet up on to the desk carefully, crossing his ankles as the leather harness pulled at his thighs. Grey eyes looked over his feet towards the Nephilim stood on the other side of his desk. "I'm certainly not going to open up while you’re demanding your shitty little face off, kid."

 

"Firstly, I am not a fucking kid." He watched his progress around his desk, following him with his eyes until he was out of his vision, turning his head to keep up with the movement. "But fine. I'll guess. I'm not listening to you so you thought you'd scare me. Or maybe you're not getting enough attention and you felt like it because hey, I'm not going to turn you away, right? I'm too _'scared'_ , or whatever. Or maybe the only other person you're used to training with is someone you used to kiss all the time without thinking about it and now you're on the rebound."

 

As Erwin was mentioned, he took a breath in and out slowly, his body tensing. Did Eren not learn from his prior beating that bringing up Erwin meant it didn't end well for his face? Or had he took notice and was purposefully using it against him in a somewhat malicious manner? Either way he was trying his utmost to not give a reaction. "I'm sure I could pick someone far better if I were on the rebound. I certainly don't think you're 'scared' though, Jaeger, and having a temper tantrum isn't going to stop me thinking you're a child."

 

"I dunno, Jean seems to think I'm good enough for a rebound or two. Maybe that’s good enough for me. Told you you wouldn't like it if I had to guess." He watched silently as Eren moved closer thinking Jean clearly had low standards of he was going to jump in to bed with such an intolerable brat that was going out his way to upset him. "If you don’t think I'm scared, then care to enlighten me on what I am instead?"

 

"Why do you want to know so badly? Why is this irritating you to come storming in to my office uninvited?" He really hadn't expected not ten minutes later, and certainly not while Eeen was being such a god damn child. The behaviour was starting to grate on a last nerve he didn't know he was close to.

 

"Because I want to know. If you only see me as a child then why the fuck are you still persisting with this at all? Why don't you just let me go back to Armin?"

"Because you have potential that you can't reach with a mushroom who doesn't like combat."

"Fine, back to Jean, then."

 

"And watch you get each other killed? No chance." He couldn't understand why he cared so much. Maybe it was the unnecessary loss of Nephilim lives at the hands of the Legion, which he just couldn't stand. He schooled his expression after he spoke in to that of simmering anger, trying to hide the fact that he felt like he was responsible for Eren staying alive, for actually wanting him to stay alive.

 

"We didn't get each other killed before. You shouldn't even be wasting your time when I already trained." His last nerve was almost snapped in two. He couldn't take much more of this self worth bullshit Eren had talked himself in to a corner with.

 

"And badly, apparently." Grey eyes looked from his boots to the window as he moved his chair backwards as he pulled his feet off his desk. He leant back, the chair shifting with his weight as he turned to face the glass, looking out pensively over the city scape below. "Why do you not want to hunt with me so badly? It can't just be my way of working."

 

"You dodged my question, so don't think I'm answering that. Why are you so interested in me? And don't give me that easy answer 'potential' bullshit. Everyone else has more potential than me."

 

He hesitated. He hesitated for a good minute or so before he could even fathom responding. He didn't rightly know why. He felt like he could help, that he could be the one to guide the teen from where he'd fell off the track and not been able to climb back on. He didn't want Eren to lose his way now when he had so much good times ahead of him in a hopefully long life as a half celestial being. But he couldn't explain it. He didn't know how to not make it sound sappy and gushy and chick flicky. "Get out of my office."

 

"Are you just doing it because Commander Erwin asked you to, then? Is that it?"

 

"Sure." He didn't sound too convinced on his own answer, one that was just the tip of the iceberg. "Smith ordered me to, and here we are." Thankfully, he made his voice go to blank and emotionless as he spoke the words. They were a blatant lie and Eren probably knew it as well. He'd defied orders from Erwin before, but this one, he'd defied it and then gone through with it anyway.

 

"Well at least that sounds believable.” Or not. “It's him I should be asking about this, clearly."

"If you don't want to hunt with me this badly Eren, his office is 3 doors down on your left as you leave my office."

"Well, you answered mine." He could see Eren's reflection, just, within the glass of the windowed wall he was currently sat staring out of, seeing the uncomfortable look cross the teens features. Were they finally getting somewhere? "So I'll answer yours. I don't want to hunt with you because.. well.. lets just say you deserve a lot better than being with saddled with me."

 

"That's not a good enough reason." Levi folded his arms across his chest as he turned back towards his desk, staying the gap and crossing his right leg over his left slowly, eyes looking up to the teen. "The Commander won't let you drop this assignment with a poor excuse like that."

"That’s not necessarily the answer I'll give him, though, is it."

 

"And what answer will you give him?" Grey eyes finally gave in and looked towards the sea green ones regarding him from where he was stood to his side, having come all the way round his desk for some odd reason. "That you are incapable of working with me? That I am not the people person you thought I was? That I am incapable of working with you? Trust me, he's heard it all before. You'll have to get creative, brat."

 

"I can get creative if I need to. It’s not that I.. I never thought you were a 'people person'. I am just not capable of working with someone who is much too valuable to our cause to be waiting for me to catch up. Exactly as I said the first time, humanity would be better served if you were hunting with someone capable of keeping up with you. I am not that person. Not yet. Maybe one day, but I have things to do first."

 

He couldn't understand all this value that had been placed up on his name. It wasn't the first time that had scared someone in to refusing to hunt with him. Why people thought they were worth less than him in his god forsaken war, he would probably never get the pleasure of knowing. But hearing it now, from Eren's lips, it just plucked a nerve and he wouldn't, couldn't, let it go. "What sort of 'things' do you need to do first?"

 

Eren had kept up with him fine when he wasn't being a whiney bitch baby in the field. Hell, even in the training room downstairs he'd been keeping up.. not listening, but certainly keeping up with him. Give it a few more hunts and they would be an unstoppable force.

Ok... Maybe more than a few, probably in a year, maybe less. Once Eren started to listen, once he started letting Levi in, it wouldn't take them long at all to get used to each other. Armin had said as much, as had Hanji. He wanted to believe that the teen before him was the hunting partner he'd been waiting for all this time. He wanted that image to become truth.

 

“Personal things." he replied, taking a few deep breaths. "Things that would just get in the way if I tried to explain them."

 

"Personal things... Right." Levi leant back in his chair again, legs unfolding as he moved to stand, walking round his desk after turning on his computer. "If you're not going to tell me, or trust me enough to, then fine. Go to the commander with my blessing. But don't think got a second you're going to get your own way." He picked up his phone and wallet from the couch, where he'd left them before going downstairs to wait for Eren. They didn't have much of a workout so lunch was more in order than the shower bed planned on.

 

He slipped his phone in to the side pocket, the harness strap on his leg keeping it secure in the fabric. The wallet stayed in his hand as he looked to Eren. "And if you won't get out of my office, I guess I'll just leave because I'm hungry, need a shower and I'm not listening to a self saboteur." Before Eren could even respond to him he was striding for the door, bag in hand from behind his desk and pulling it back open. He headed out of it and towards the elevator, hitting the call button as he tried to will the anger away from his mind.

 

He showered first, clearing his head, or trying to at the very least. He couldn’t seem to get Eren’s lips against his own out of his brain, let alone their close knit position that he’d led them in to. He wasn’t one for rebounds, not at all. He wasn’t about to start now.   
  
When the shower hadn’t helped him clear his mind any, he sat and sorted his hair, drying it out quickly and heading out the room, towards the elevator to take him to the cafeteria. As he exited the elevator on to the correct floor, he was at least a little more composed than he was after leaving his office. At least when he got back, Eren wouldn't be there and he could get on with some work and eat his lunch in peace and quiet. Unless Hanji decided to show up and sit with him of course.

 

He joined the line with his arms folded, eyes already looking over the menu and wondering if he should just go down the road and get Chinese. He knew their lunchtime menu was pretty decent, having ordered there before with Erwin not long ago. He was about to turn and leave, to do exactly that, when someone went past him with stir fry, which didn't have too much sauce. That alone made him stay just to look at it. "Lance Corporal!" He sighed, wishing he'd took his own advice and left to go get food from outside the building. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder to see Jean and Marco approaching, the floor met trailing behind the freckled teen slightly. "Sorry to interrupt on your lunch break..."

 

"You aren't interrupting Bodt. I'm in a line, not actually eating." He turned back around as he spoke, following the line as it lessened.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for letting us watch part of your sparring session with Eren this morning."

"You're welcome."

 

In all fairness can he didn't often let people watch sparring sessions that weren't prescheduled with a teaching session, and it wasn't often he did that either. He preferred to not have an audience when trying to teach as he was more effective at it when only the person he needed to listen was there. In Eren's case the teen still hadn't been listening, despite his best efforts. "Thank you, anyway, sir. It was nice to watch in my first week."

 

"I trust Mr Kirstein is looking after you while he shows you around?"

"He is, yes sir."

"Good." That'll keep Jean occupied for a few days while he worked on Eren. Which sounds highly suspect when he said it that way in his head, but he didn't need the kid being distracted by Jean coaxing him back to hunting with him. Though he gained a small smirk at the fact that Jean seed blindsided to everything right now but Marco. If he were a betting man, he'd give it a month before they were hunting together. That might be one for Hanji and Erwin, though you could guarantee that Hanji had had a hand in Jean showing the poor kid round.

 

He was soon at the front of the line and was pleased to see the stir fry was chicken. There was other things he'd like, but he was craving Chinese. "Is that going to help your body for sparring?"

 

"I don't plan on sparring again today and my body is fine thank you, Kirstein." He paid after saying he was taking it to his office, the male behind the counter placing it in a plastic container for him, fork and chopsticks on top of the box. The look his received and the half price meal clearly said the man serving agreed with his words to Jean, but Levi didn't question it, just happy to have food and to be retreating from the cafeteria.

 

He headed back upstairs after getting himself coffee from the machine in the large hall, was soon walking past offices to get to his own at the other end of the hall. His door was still open, rather annoyed that Eren hadn't closed it when he left, but that became deeper when he saw Eren sat behind his desk. He sighed, wondering why the hell the teen was still here and on his computer no less, but thought better on arguing, given he had hot food in his hands and coffee balanced on top of the tub. The look he gave was undoubtedly enough, even though it didn't get Eren to move.

 

Levi got comfy on his sofa, phone and wallet next to him as he cracked open the tub after placing his coffee on the small table to his right next to the arm of the furniture. A pair of chopsticks later and he was eating. It was delicious. He was rather saddened that he'd not brought any form of dessert with him though...

 

His mind got lost, as he looked forwards out the window, wondering about that morning and where he'd gone wrong. Maybe a less forceful hand would work better. They weren't going to be going out on hunts until they could work together appropriately, and if that meant more time in a sparring room, then so be it. At least he'd still get a work out and hopefully get an insight in to Eren.

It was stressing him out no end. He never had this much trouble before trying to teach someone something, or hunt with them for that matter. It either worked or it didn't. Those were the only outcomes. More often than not it always ended in the 'it didn't’ pile, but still, he couldn't understand why he was trying so hard with the brat if he was adamant that he didn't want to pair with him. He was taking that to heart and he never had before.

 

Maybe it was the whole thing with Erwin effecting him more than he'd care to admit. The man had effectively ended things between them for this shitty brat that didn't want to even go out in the field with him. He'd done it so he could pour all his focus in to fixing the problem Erwin clearly knew would arise. Maybe if he and Eren weren't hunting, he and Erwin would get back together... “Is that.. whatever that is.. going to do you any favours after sparring all morning, sir?” The words pulled him somewhat violently out of his thoughts, Levi's hold on the chopsticks failing him and causing him to drop the food he held between the sticks back in to the tub resting on the arm of the sofa he was leaning against. Kid was as bad of Jean.

 

“I don’t question your odd affinity for pasta salad, kid. Don’t ask about the chicken stir fry.”

“Fair enough.” He brought more food to his lips after a second adjusting his grip again, and was looking back outside the window.

 

He figured it would be a bad idea to even contemplate getting back together with Erwin. It hadn't been a type of relationship that he'd wanted anyway. He liked being together with someone, liked being the centre of their attention, liked doing all the things couples did too... fantastic sex aside, as that only seemed to happen in the last few years when one of them was too stressed, frustrated or angry to even think. Yes, definitely not good to go back to that...

 

Actually, now that he thought about it, he was somewhat thankful to not be in that relationship anymore. He was always second to the garrison anyway, and he’d never liked that feeling in the slightest when he'd ran out on him to attend to work. Maybe that's why they'd both pushed this, hoping he'd take Eren as some sort of rebound to satisfy himself and in to getting over Erwin. Clearly, they didn't know him all that well. He wasn't one for rebounds for sure, and he'd definitely need to be over their Commander in Chief if he hoped to get anywhere with anyone. When Eren had kissed him, he automatically though how he used to do the same thing with Erwin, back in the beginning.

 

“If you didn’t want me for anything, sir, I’ll be leaving you to get on with your day.” Fucking brat needed to stop interrupting his train of thought.

 

"Not needed you since I left you in the training room, kid." He ate more of his food, glancing to Eren as the teen rounded his desk, a rather annoyed look on his face. He swallowed as Eren headed for the door. "What were you even doing on there? I know it's slightly quicker than the ones downstairs but..."

 

"Hanji messaged you about lunch and I got talking to her after I told her you'd already gone to get food."

"Was that all you were using it for?"

"And a game or two."

"Couldn't you have spoken to her on your own computer? Sure she'd have been easy enough to find." He pushed the remainder of his food around in the tub, having a fair amount left as Eren shrugged, heading to leave the room he watched him go, and shut the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: Firanna  
> Tag = fic: white wings
> 
> See ya next week <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed again, i apologise.
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Much love, Fira xx

Levi had been early the next evening, having wanted to get a new shirt. As soon as he'd been issued one, he headed to his office to gear up completely, weapons and jacket soon in place. He sat down at his desk as it beeped, Hanji having messaged him.

 

_CAZH: So glad you're going out hunting!!_

_LCRL: Me too, to be honest. Been too long._

 

It was then he noticed the conversation still saved to the window that had been between Eren and Hanji yesterday. He scrolled through it slowly, reading them with a slight frown. How did Eren know that he was 28 when he died?? He also made a mental note to stop eating around Hanji. She knew him far too well, he didn't need Eren knowing anything of the sort about him.

It also bothered him what Eren had said about innocent lives. He'd much rather them die, if they had to of course, at their hand rather than a demons, especially in the kill that he'd had to go through with. She'd have died either way and at least his way meant she hadn't suffered. Obviously, Eren hadn't let him explain this at any point. The teen also hadn't apologised as per Hanji’s request.

 

Levi sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared at his screen. He couldn't understand, other than he views and priorities, why Eren was borderline hating him. Even with normal social interaction people didn't hate him as much as Eren did.

He couldn't understand why it bothered him so much....

 

"Lance Corporal Sir?" He looked up to his open door, seeing. Young male stood in full gear. He gave him a blank look, which prompted him to continue. "C-Commander Smith sent me as Eren's replacement."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm your new partner."

"I didn't request that."

"The Commander told me that you did. We are supposed to be hunting tonight..."

 

"Like hell." He was up out of his chair, a face full of thunder which made the nameless male step aside quickly as he stormed past, quick to cross the corridor and storm in to Erwin's office, finding him behind the desk.

 

"What the hell?!"

"Levi?"

"Why the fuck is there a new recruit stood at my office door telling me I'm hunting with him?!"

"Because I reassigned Eren...?"

"Why? I told you not to!"

"Then you sent me an email yesterday asking to reassign him for you and to find someone else for today." They stared at each other for a minute, the sounds of the new recruit at the door causing him to defrost.

 

"I didn't send you any email. _Fuck_. Eren sent that!!" He turned to leave, storming out of the room in an angry stride. "I'm still partnered with him god damn brat. Fucking child."

 

It didn't take him long, to find out where Eren was, and unlucky for him, he was in full hunting gear, sword and all at his sides. He was quick to barge in to the 104th sector of the office floors, most people moving away and giving him space to move without being hindered. It took him no time at all to find Eren sat with Armin, looking somewhat like a deer caught in headlights as Levi moved towards him in full gear and weapons. He didn't break stride, just reached out and took hold of Eren's collar and pulled him up and out of his chair, letting go once he was out of the chair and his hand taking hold of his wrist instead until they were in he elevator that was on the other side of the room. He hit the button harshly, arms folded across his chest, resolutely not speaking until they were walking down the familiar corridor of yesterday. "You are such a..." He sighed, entering the room, pulling his boots and socks off quickly to not ruin the matting, throwing them angrily to the benches. "There not even a word for the complete and total immaturity you possess." He stepped on to the mat, moving to the middle, "you clearly have a problem with me that you hate me enough to drop me by impersonating me." He held his arms up as he faced the teen. Hurry up and fucking get whatever it is out your system. If this helps you then I'm not complaining." He watched as Eren removed his boots and adjusted the harness straps around his legs before walking to the centre of the matting himself, arms loosely folded and expression neutral, slight frown showing resigned annoyance.

 

"I don't hate you. Not you as a person, at least. I just can't work with you, we're not compatible fighters - you won't change at all, no matter what I think of your methods, and I won't change for you." he replied, shrugging. "I can keep giving you the slip forever if that’s what it takes for you to give up on trying to get me to do anything differently."  
"I'm never going to give up kid, not quite my style when I'm invested."  
"Of course. Anything else, or can I go and do something useful aside from be lectured now?"

"No. If we aren't hunting tonight we are training. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not." He wasn't just going to sit around and wait for Eren to give up on hunting with him, quitting because he didn't think they were compatible fighters. No. He wasn't going to try and change that outlook as best he could. They would spar and talk tactics, hell he'd even sit and research with him if that's what it took.  
"Last time we 'trained' you walked out on me. Why do you expect anything different to happen now?"  
"Because last time we trained you kissed me. I expect your sexually frustrated ass to take this seriously."  
"And it was a stupid mistake I do not intend to repeat. I'm not interested in being anyone's rebound."  
  
"Like fuck are you a rebound for me." Levi looked away, down to his harness and starting to sort out straps, making sure the weapons where secure, "you kissed me."  
"Because I thought it would freak you out, yes. As I said, it was a mistake."   
"As was you thinking you are a rebound for me. But if you think you're such a good choice for a round of rebound sex that you’re almost proud of it, then let's call the press, I'm sure your parents would be so proud of you for it."

The words were out his mouth before he realised what he'd said, and it showed for a split second before he schooled his expression from shock back in to anger. He'd said it now, there was no point what so ever of taking it back or apologising for saying it as Eren would be just as livid. Though he regretted the words slightly, he did home they'd hit the spot he needed for Eren to lash out, to take the bait of him standing there and working out whatever frustrations he had, through fighting. Levi thought it'd be easy, Eren disliking him so much that he couldn't hunt with him, that the teen would have already taken the golden opportunity to lunge for him.  
  
"My parents wouldn't be anything. They're dead."  
  
"And anything you do is not going to change that in the slightest. Revenge isn't all there is to live for." His body language relaxed a fraction, looking towards Eren with searching eyes, wanting nothing more than for him to just start on the offensive and work out the pent up anger he knew he had stashed away.

"Makes me feel a whole lot better, though. There's nothing else here to live for, either. Not for me."

"Bullshit. How can you not see you have reasons to keep on living?!"

"My whole reason for agreeing to be here was revenge. Nothing else. I'm here to kill demons till one drops me, and that's all."

 

"There’s more to this life than that, Eren." He knew he was throwing Hanji's words back in the teens face from when he'd been speaking to her on his computer yesterday, but she was completely right. He'd seen too many Nephilim go down the path of revenge not not last lore than a decade. Too many good souls lost to the cycle well before their time. He didn't want the same to happen to the half breed in front of him. He didn't want to let that happen. Not on his watch.

 

"And I suppose you intend to teach me that? Like it's supposed to help make anything better.."

 

"I intend to help... I'm not saying it's going to make anything better. It won't. It'll suck for years, decades probably, trust me." He sighed lightly, looking towards where his boots were, then down to his hips, unclipping his swords from his belt and moving towards the benched, laying them down flat carefully. "It's just about how you use that pain and how you handle it." He turned back towards Eren, grey eyes holding a plethora of emotion that he hoped wasn't identifiable. "The longer you can keep yourself alive, the more time you have to kill demons."

 

"I'm not in any pain." he replied, trying and failing to sound anything but hollow. "And even if I was, it doesn't matter in the long run. I'm not going to remember this life when I die again, so what's the point worrying about how much I get hurt?"  
  
Levi watched him seat himself cross-legged on the matting until Levi wanted to do something else more active, his hands bunching in the folds of the deep red shirt in a clearly self-comforting motion as he stared emptily off to the side.

For some reason, the hollow tone and the picture that Eren made as he almost hugged himself after he'd sat down made him want to pull him into his arms himself. He'd caused that to happen and he wanted it fixed, and that was rare that he ever wanted to hug someone. He moved forwards slowly, sitting down in front of him a short way, his legs bent at the knee with his feet planted flat on the squishy matting, pointing inwards ever so slightly from where they rested a hips width apart. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his arms dangle between his legs, looking down to them.

 

"Even if it's not pain your feeling, I know how you feel. I've been through that whole spectrum and you can't let it consume you. You still have a family here, even if you don't see you have yet. Arlett, Ackerman, hey even Kirstein probably. They left you behind in one world, to find you here. Wouldn't you think they'd be devastated if something happened to you, don't you think?" He looked to Eren’s knees, a blank expression firmly on his face.

 

Maybe he was going about this all wrong. Maybe the answer wasn't something physical like training and teaching. Maybe it was something a lot simpler. Well, simpler for most people. His kind of simpler was the hunting and fighting side, not the touchy feely get to you each other side of things. He always left that to chance and maybe to someone else if he could get away with it.

Maybe letting Eren past a few walls would show him who he really was, after all, breakfast had gone kind of alright after he'd dragged him out of Jeans. If Armin was right, and this teen did in fact value his opinion, he needed to get it across in a way he'd think about it, clearly this way just wasn't working. He needed to revaluate.  
  
"They'd get over it. You've lost people and you're fine, they will be too." he replied, obviously a little sullen at how unfair it was to spring something like that one. Logic was a bitch at times. "I got over having to lose the versions of them that I knew before. Besides, how is that relevant to my ability to do my job?"

 

“Because when you accept it, you'll be better off. You have something better to fight for, _people_ to fight for. A cause to better yourself through those you save and those you will go on to save by staying alive for as long as you are able... Instead of just mindless revenge that will satiate you for a short while and then all you'll have is emptiness..."

 

Hell, in his early days revenge was on his mind, until he was talked out of it by Erwin. Levi was beyond hope when he learnt the war was never going to turn their way, that the invasion was fronted by deals with the devil giving Erwin the loophole he needed to fetch his entire team’s souls up for being offered a new life. He'd been out for revenge for his entire country, only to be talked out of a losing battle. He was more useful alive, is how Erwin put it to him... and somehow he didn't think that those words would sit well with Eren… "I don't want that to happen to someone who I think could go the distance with the right people at his side, and I'm by no means saying that I would be one of them." Levi smirked a small, knowing smile, glancing up to the roof, away from the wall where his eyes had not moved from. "I wasn't lying to you, when I said you had potential. I just think you need help finding it within yourself and I'm offering to be the person that helps." His eyes stayed where they were gazing, head titled up slightly to look towards the balcony that circled above them, avoiding Eren's eyes as much as he could, giving the teen room and space to think, hopefully. "I don't want to see you lose that chance." It was about as honest as he was going to get, now or ever, he imagined, as he titled his head back down, looking to his crossed wrists.

 

"So you're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart after I spent so long fucking you around? That's either foolish of you or hard to believe." He was still resigned, annoyed, but he was looking at Levi now instead of trying to isolate himself. He looked back down there, keeping quiet, seeing if Eren would agree to his own words. It wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart, not by far, it was his job to do this, and his job he would most certainly do. "Whatever. Fine. Either way it’s not like I can do anything about it and the longer we fuck around the less hunting I can actually do." The Nephilim watched as the small hint of the grin he’d had that morning they’d gone for breakfast started to return to the teens face and hoping it was genuine. He saw it as such anyway. "So what do I have potential for, aside from running away from you?" he joked. He was really hoping his words were being taken in and not just brushed off and the teen just acting like he were listening

 

"Anything." It was a simple word, but he really did mean it. "For now though, I just hope you can learn." He rolled his shoulders slightly, wishing he'd not changed until Eren was waiting for him, to save his body the unnecessary weight of weapons and tightness of his harness. "And patience in not hunting for a little while. Erwin won't let us until he's approved that we can get on in the field. No pressure though Jaeger."

 

"I wouldn't worry about that. I'm a fast learner."

 

He smirked at the thought. Erwin hadn't said it yet, but it was coming, he knew it. After the stunt Eren pulled and how he'd reacted to it, it was clear neither of them were fit to go out in the field for various reasons. And he didn't want them to. If anything he wanted them to get along before they went anywhere near demons, but that was going to take longer than the few weeks he knew he'd get to work alongside Eren in a purely academic and social environment. Maybe getting to know each other outside of a working environment would help? Show Eren that he wasn't just paperwork, teaching and hunting.  
  
"Now it's up to you. We can either stay in here lock the door so we can spar in peace and go a few rounds, or go get some food."

 

"Since we're already here it seems better to at least try and spar for a while. I'll try not to spend the whole fight dodging you this time." he added, shrugging as he got to his feet, Levi following his lead and looked on as the teen started running through his usual series of warm up stretches and small exercises. He nodded alittle to himself, recognising the stretches as some of those from basic training, and moved away to do his own for a few moments before tightening his straps around his body some, purely out of habit. They were beyond tight most of the time, and that's the way he liked it, especially with weapons pinned to it at various points and the swords that were on the bench at the side of the room were weight the leather down. He preferred it not to come loose mid fight.

What he'd neglected to tell Eren though, was that if he cooperated, it'd be easier to not have to hunt with him. Because at least he'd have tried for longer than a few days. He hoped he'd stick around longer than getting approved and then a hunt after that, at least.

 

Levi moved towards off centre of the matt, closer to the wall after heading and locking the door. The one upstairs wasn't locked, but at least no one would be able to wander in through this way and disturb them. He stretched his arms above his head, holding them there for a moment while he spoke, "no rules this time. Come at me with your best shot."

 

"Really?" He dropped his arms and rolled his shoulders, nodding. "No rules?"

 

"That's what I said Jaeger." He smirked, flexing his hands, readying to wield a weapon if Eren did. The teen wasn't the only one with a few knives, he could spot one or two. "We are in a building where there is quite the number of medical personnel. Give me your best shot."

 

 

This time Eren’s approach was completely different. He had been completely disinterested in their first fight, and this time he seemed a lot more engaged. Whether that was Levi telling him to give it his best shot, that there were no rules involved, or simply the fact he was still angry with him he didn’t quite know. Regardless, his own wings were completely hidden, wondering if Eren would do the same, or sport the advantage the kid clearly loved to have.

 

“Thought you weren’t trying to avoid me this time?” He could see the shift his taunt had caused. You could almost see the cogs and gears in Eren’s brain take a backseat to the instinct that took over in his stance. Levi smirked slightly as he realised Eren was allowing himself to just make careful, tentative attempts at getting a hit in. Levi was far too fast for him, though, dodging and retaliating quicker than Eren could block. He wasn’t holding back his hits, them a lot harder, every punch or kick knocking the teen back a step, incrementally chipping away at his patience.

Eren yelped in shock as a kick swept his ankles out from under him and he landed on his back, breath leaving him in one soft ‘oof’. “Still waiting, Eren.”

 

The next half an hour was spent much the same way, Eren’s patience degraded more and more even when they advanced to incorporating use of their wings. It didn’t really help matters as it greatly added to Levi’s speed and how agile it made him. He’d have years and years of experience with him, he knew things about wings that Eren would never dream of knowing at this stage in the life he’d chosen. Their time sparring was quickly becoming a repetitive cycle of Eren being floored and then told to get back up. Levi couldn’t’ wait for Eren to just _snap_. To let it all out like he’d wanted him to an hour ago.

 

To the onlooker, Levi didn’t look like he’d been extending himself at all yet aside from a barely-there sheen of sweat on his skin while Eren was obviously getting tired. The teen paused for a moment, landing perfectly balanced on the ledge up on the second floor viewing balcony as he had before, his fingers snapping at one of the black leather belts around his thigh as his face set into a heavy frown.

 

“Fuck this.” Levi’s smirk became more defined as his Nephilim ears managed to pick up the two, growled words. He didn’t think Eren meant for him to hear, but he did, and all he could think of was ‘ _finally’_. He followed Eren’s example, his own knife being unsheathed slowly, carefully as he watched, easily able to see him coming and avoid his drop back down to ground level, but he wasn’t expecting the change in behaviour, the fact he was allowing himself to be driven by anger seeming to make Eren a completely different person. He wasn’t even trying to block anything, evading anything he could sense incoming and breathing through the hits that drew blood. It wasn’t long before Levi managed to floor him again, but this time Eren cushioned the fall with his empty hand and twisted, cuffing the older Nephilim over the back of the head with his wing to knock him off balance and then taking a grip around the back of his knees with his ankles and tugging sharply forwards.

 

Levi braced himself as he hit the floor and Eren rolled on top of him with a feral growl of anger in seconds as he grabbed the hand holding his knife and pinned it in the small of his back, taking advantage of the few moments of being shocked and winded in order to get his knee in between Levi’s wings, keeping him pinned face down to the floor. Levi tipped his head up to avoid the blade cutting into his skin too much as the grip on his wrist tightened to an almost painful degree, Eren’s weight centred on his hips to stop him pushing up too far or trying to twist too much to throw him off.

 

“Is **_that_** close enough, Corporal?” The words were the same low, harsh growl as before, and Eren pressed in harder with the knife. He could feel the metal slice his skin, his right eye twitching as he felt the blood well up against his throat, willing Eren to come back to his senses. He didn’t want to call quits, he’d have to seriously injure Eren to get him off and he wanted the teen to bringing _himself_ out of this, bring himself back to reality. “Wait.. no.. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t.. I nearly..”  The blade was dropped quickly as if it were red hot and Eren was off him even quicker than it took him to get on top of him and pin him to the mat, shuffling backwards like a scared child, getting to his feet and backing off till he hit the wall and could sink against one of the benches around the sides of the room and just breathe his anger off, still visibly shaking from it and something akin to fear.

 

The Lance Corporal in him was telling him that hold had been excellent, even the method of making him fall to the floor had been good. Levi pushed himself up in to a sitting position, his fingers came up to his neck, touching the slice carefully, pulling it back and seeing his fingertips coated in red. Someone would need to look at that as it wouldn't heal as quick as if a demon had done it. "Eren..." He had already begun to move to the teens side, or at least to in front of him. Grey eyes looked at the teens whose hands were in his hair and looking to the floor. "Come on, that was fine." He stayed with a decent enough gap between them, crouching down, panting slightly as he regained his breath. "Honestly. Your form was excellent, your pin and hold were great. We just need to work on you channelling your frustration a little less... murderous." He kept a blank look, not good at reassurance and empathic emotions in such times as this. He didn't think he'd be able to help Eren out of this, the teen would have to come out of the shock and the scared look on his own. Levi didn't do hugs and touchy feely, he never had done, "you still with me, Jaeger??"

 

"Yeah. I'm still here." Eren replied, his breathing rate starting to slow as he realised Levi was obviously still fine, just winded, and that he'd stopped himself. "I don't do 'less murderous', I'm afraid." he replied, his voice still a little shaky. "What you see is what you get. Now maybe you know why I couldn't really stay partnered with Armin for too long, I guess." And why he was going back with the blond over his dead body thrown back in for recycling.

 

"Do you like Chinese, Jaeger?" Levi could see the kid was still panicking, still stressing over what had just happened. It was clear they'd finished for the day, since his neck needed looking at as he could feel the blood creeping down his neck and it was beginning to make him nauseated as it would soon be seeping in to his top. The brat needed distracting from his quite obvious panic.

 

"Uh.. yes. But what's that got to do with sparring, sir?"

 

"Everything. How about Italian? Not had that in weeks..." He moved carefully, back on to his arms as he moved his legs out from under him, sitting on the very edge of the matting to still give Eren some space. He crossed his legs under him as Eren sent a confused look his way.

 

"Well.. I'll never say no to cheesy garlic bread, I guess."

"Just garlic bread or would you have something with it?"

"Depends on whether I could eat a horseface or not?" Bad pun aside, the increasingly confused look crossing the teens face made a half smirk creep on to his face as he watched. "Why'd you ask?"

 

"Curiosity. Indian is my go to food though if I want take out. You got a favourite type of food to get as take out Jaeger? If you haven't why the heck not?"

 

"Because I don’t watch what I eat that closely. If food's good then it's good... I'm usually a bit busy." Even though this whole conversation was a giant ploy to get Eren to think about something else entirely rather than the training fight they'd just had, it was rather saddening that Eren didn't have one place he could always go to for food that would just make his day better with their food. He’d have to make sure Eren changed that habit, introduce him to a few good places. "You're going to make me hungry."

 

"Well, what do you feel like going to have?" He unfolded his legs, bending them and folding his arms atop his knees, swallowing thickly as the slice on his neck began to throb slightly. He ignored it for now, until he could see Eren having calmed down enough that he could mention leaving.

 

"Probably noodles. Not very messy so I can get back to drawing relatively quickly when I go home."

 

"How about..." He glanced to the door, "you get changed, showered, and I take you for some noodles?" He looked back to Eren, titled his head ever so slightly to the left, capturing sea green with his own grey as he waited for an answer.

 

"Sure, if you're okay being done here."

 

"More than fine kid, I could go for some noodles." He unfolded himself and push up off the mat, brushing himself off and moving to collect his swords once he was stood, clipping them on to the belt of his harness around his waist. He looked to Eren to see him standing.

 

"Okay then. Won't take me too long to get sorted."

"Meet me at my office when you’re ready?" He was pulling his boots back on as he spoke, glancing up to Eren as he did so.  
  
"Alright." Levi nodded, letting him collect his things and heading for he door and unlocking it. He headed out of it, Eren close behind, and made his way towards the elevator, hitting the call button and heading inside, prompting Eren to hit his floors button and then hiring his own as the doors closed.

 

 

The medical bay was his first port of call, and it was obviously a slow day as Hanji herself was wandering about helping out. "What the hell happened??"

 

"Brat got a bit close."

"A bit? You call this _a bit_?!"

"Will you clam down?" He batted her away as he started undoing his harness on he way to a nearby chair, Hanji steering him towards a room. He sat down on a chair in there instead, letting his harness fall to hang around his waist, weapons and all, as he pulled his shirt off. "He actually did what I asked."

 

"You asked him to almost take your head off?"

"No. I told him to jot hold back. I thought he was going to but il he finally cracked and went for it."

"Could you not hold him off?"

 

"No." He frowned at that, as Hanji got one of her staff to come over and sort Levis neck out while she observed. "Can see why he couldn't stay with Arlett now, though. If I couldn't stop him I doubt the mushroom would last. I need that tape." He woman dabbed at the slice, and Levi was too involved in his words and thoughts to even question what was taking her so long. It should be a quick swipe, clean up and on his way.

 

"I'll get it for you. Are you going back down there?"

"No. Going for something to eat."

"With Eren?" Levi nodded slightly as the female trainee wooded his skin so it was free of blood.

"You... You're all good now Lance C-Corporal." He nodded again and slid out the chair, shirt in hand as he headed out, Hanji watching after him with a small smile on her face.

 

It didn't take him long, to grab his bag from his office, shower change and head back upstairs for his things. He was barley back in his office 5 minutes before Eren showed up. "Ready when you are." he finished looping his wrap over his head and around his neck and pulled his jacket on, grabbing his phone and wallet as he walked by his desk.

  
"Let's go." He ushered Eren out and shit the door behind them, locking it and walking just in front of him to the elevator, hitting the call button and looking above the doors to the digital count to say where the lift was.

 

 

 

The walk was spent in quiet, thoughtful silence by both of them. Levi couldn’t help but think on how much control Eren had actually lost, but couldn’t stop himself from thinking straight away of the control he’d gained, by stopping himself the way he did. He didn’t’ think that had been an easy task for the teen, stopping that anger dead in its tracks, but he’d done it, and he was more than just a little proud of that fact. The place was one that looked like a relaxing and calm environment, rather fitting for what had just happened in the sparing rooms. He wondered how Eren had found it, as they were seated and given menus. He ordered quickly along with Eren, knowing what he wanted with a quick glance of the selection and started to take his jacket and scarf from his body,

 

"Why didn't it bother you? When I.." As Eren paused, Levi placed his jacket on top of his scarf next to him carefully, letting the teen continue at his own pace. "Heh.. I guess I'm not used to being the surprised one after something like that happens. Everyone else is usually shocked when I get like that.."

 

"Because I told you not to hold back." He placed his things down next to him neatly, glancing out the window as he did so, them having been seated next to one. He glanced to the waiter as their drinks were brought over, Levi picking up the glass of water with a small nod of thanks. He sipped at it before placing it down. "I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't have. You wouldn't have hurt me anymore than you did." He picked up his chopsticks and snapped them apart, fingers playing with them idly before placing them down on his napkin.   
"I got close enough to it to give myself a panic attack." Eren replied, sighing. "That should tell you just how close a thing it was."  
"Good thing it happened in a controlled environment than out in the field, then, isn't it?" He messed with his chopsticks, leaning forwards slightly on the benched seat he was sat on across from Eren.  
"It wouldn't happen out there... but I guess now you know why Jean and Armin always got the hell out of the way. Just incase." He looked up there, a small frown on his face as to the teens words.  
“You realize that’s not likely with me right?”   
"Yeah, I noticed." Eren griped, taking a quick drink from his glass of water and realizing he was being bitter again. "Sorry. I guess I never explained my reasons for anything to you."  
"Yeah, 'personal things'..." His frown didn't move any as he looked to Eren's glass as he placed it down. "Right?" He wasn’t the type of person to just let a rampage go, and certainly not like the one he’d seen Eren have. He wouldn’t allow the other to get hurt if he could help it, and if that meant getting in the way to stop him… so be it.  
  
"Yeah." Eren bit his lip for a moment then, it taking him several moments of fidgeting to figure out how to word what he wanted to say. "Look.. I'm not going to preface this with anything. You're right. I might be cocky and stubborn but you're right and I was childish earlier on, and I'm sorry for that." he said, his honestly showing clearly in his expression as he fell still and breathed out slowly, evidently glad he'd got that out without screwing it up.  
  
He looked up as Eren apologized, his frown lessening as he did so, and they were soon interrupted before he could respond. Their food was placed before them and he gave a small thanks to the person that brought it, them soon leaving them to it. Chopsticks were quick to be back in his hand and he was soon fishing through noodles for a piece of chicken.  
  
“You don’t have to explain anything. But thank you, for apologizing.” Levi knew it must be hard for Eren to apologise, and he was grateful for it, of course. But he couldn’t help but think that he was still holding back from him in more ways than he could probably count.  
  
"I should have apologised before." Eren replied, sighing as he brought a forkful of chicken and rice up to his mouth without looking at it, continuing to roughly sketch and add another layer of depth to it. "Never even told you about my parents, did I?"

"And you don't have to." He was focused on his chopsticks as he pulled out noodles between them with some vegetables tangled in. "Not if you don't want, don't feel obligated because you held a knife to my throat, kid."  
  
"This has nothing to do with today." Eren replied, waving it off a little with the fingers still curled around his pencil. "It's been creeping up on me for a while. Everyone else I've partnered with, I told them everything about why I have the hang-ups that I have. But I was too pissed off to tell you. That can't continue."  
  
Levi glanced towards the sketchbook the other was drawing in, before looking back to his food. "I'll listen, but you really don't have to, Eren. I know it must be difficult." From what Armin had told him, it must be rather difficult for Eren to even think about his parents and what happened to allow him to become a Nephilim.  
  
"I didn't say I was going to tell you the hard things." Eren replied, his words carefully chosen now to avoid the sharp edges they might catch on in his mind. "Just the things that matter to understand why I do what I do."  Levi nodded a little as he had a mouthful of chicken and noodles, swallowing as best he could and eyeing Eren over his bowl.  
  
“So, what? Am I supposed to guess? Or is this an open Q&A?”  
"Sure, I'm good with a Q&A." He hesitated for a moment, chopsticks hovering above the soup and noodles left in his bowl as he regarded the other as he chuckled. As much as he shouldn’t know, he did already know about Eren’s parents thanks to a certain blond Nephilim worrying about the green eyed kid sat across from him. If Eren wanted to tell him, he could do so in his own time and on his own free will instead of Levi asking him to tell him.  
  
"Well for one i don't want to know about your parents, or what it is that makes you throw small tantrums more often than not and stamp your feet." He smirked as he went back to his food, pulling out more noodles from the bowl.  
  
"Too personal? Or did you already guess?" Eren asked quickly,  
“Already guess? It’s not hard to guess that someone’s death is relevant to how they are after it. For us, anyway.”  
"True." Eren shivered noticeably, having to put his pencil down and take a deep breath in and out, eyes closing for a minute. "They were innocents, and what happened to them.. yeah. That's why I don't touch innocent people, no matter the circumstances."  
  
"That's where you and I differ, I suppose. Though I can understand why. I remember when I was exactly the same." He smiled a small, barely there smile as he licked his lips a little.  
  
"Must have been a long time ago." Eren mused wryly, going back to his sketch as he started to add more of Levi to it than just his wings. "I don't imagine you ever needed my level of anger management though. Anything else you want to know?"  
  
“Quite some time… yes.” He paused there, wondering what exactly he wanted to ask of the teen before him. He wasn’t too sure what he wanted to know other than what he already knew. He wasn’t fussed with Eren’s passed, he wasn’t’ with anyone’s really. The only part of Eren’s past he was remotely interested in was where he came from… so he went with that. “What was it like?”  
  
Eren let out a low hum. "Nah. Actually.. I grew up in this state, in this kind of time period. Just not in this world, so how I lived is pretty much what you're seeing now. I went to college, though. My dad wanted me to be a doctor. S'how I met Jean, we're both from the same world."  
  
Levi nodded a little, bringing his bowl back to his lips and drinking more of the soup carefully. There was only a small amount left when he placed it down again, a pause after Eren had finished speaking. "I didn't realise you were both from the same world. must be nice, having someone you used to know here. Well." He picked up the bowl, looking curious for a moment. "I mean, you probably know the majority of the Nephilim, but someone who you actually knew before hand."  
  
"Yeah." Eren sighed. "Jean.. he gets it. He doesn't expect me to be someone else. Armin, Mikasa.. everyone else remembers a different me. And it's hard dealing with that sometimes."  
  
"Then you should be alright with me, shouldn't you?"  
"Seems so. Judging from everything so far it's like you never met me. Then again, I never met you either. Your name was on my timetable as lecturer when I went back but.. well. I never went back."  
  
“Lecturer?” He smirked there, placing his used chopsticks in to the bowl and picking up his napkin. “I’d never see myself teaching full time, for sure.” He wiped his mouth, and the napkin went in to the bowl as well. “But no, I never met you in my timeline.”  
  
The brunet blinked at that, leaning back and looking up with his head tilted slightly to the side, gaze somewhat sceptical. "You'd never see yourself teaching? What the hell do you think you do for us apart from keep us alive then? You've taught everyone a lot."

  
”That’s different.” He pushed the bowl to the side, both his and Eren’s plate quickly collected. He picked up a dessert menu carefully and flipped it open. “I don’t have to be sat at a desk in a stuffy room. I can be out in the field. When the kids let me, obviously.” He smirked at the words on the page in front of him, barely having looked at Eren’s sketchbook. It was a quiet dig at the teen not letting him help him, and it was something that bugged him, when all his intentions were nothing but good on the front of him being safe and able to look after himself.  
  
"Is that a subtle dig at me by any chance?" Eren deadpanned, flicking over his sketchbook page to start afresh, Levi’s eyes looking to the clean and crisp page awaiting Eren’s pencil marks. "Oh well. This city definitely has a better nightlife than college so that's one reason it's good to be dead I guess."  
  
"Maybe a small one. I wouldn't know on the nightlife. I didn't do that before I was killed, never mind after."  
  
"Maybe you should come and find out what it's like for a night, then." Eren replied, smirking at him a little over his page as the idea gave him more things to draw. Perhaps later when Levi wasn't likely to see, though. "Although I hear Hanji goes out sometimes, so there's a precedent even if you're old."  
  
“I’ll let that comment slide, kid, given everything is older than you.” He tossed the dessert menu to Eren, on top of the page he had just begun to draw on. “But I’m fine, thanks. I’d rather stay in and watch a movie. Hanji gave up a long time ago on getting me to go out every Saturday night.”  
  
"I'm not a--" Eren paused, clearly realising there was little point as he'd started it by calling Levi old, said male seeing him smile and shake his head a little. "Nevermind. So why ask me about my past? Does that kind of thing interest you or was it just in general?"  
  
He hesitated for a moment, looking around the restaurant. "Just in general…"  
  
"Okay." Levi's hesitation was slightly cute but he pushed the thought away, neatly setting his pencil down at the bottom of his next completed sketch. This one was more like what he was after. "For the record, it's kinda Jean's fault. For the first few weeks if it was bleeding sulphur it died. He's the one that made me cautious."  
  
"Nothing wrong with being cautious. Did you want dessert?" He looked back towards him, looking to the menu he'd given him.

"Sure." Eren shrugged loosely. "Come to think, Jean is probably the reason I should stop going out. He can dare me to do some pretty stupid things for $25 when I'm drunk and Armin won't stop him now either, he just hangs back and saves the evidence so he can blackmail me later." he sighed, drinking more water. "With friends like mine who needs enemies, heh."  
  
"Yeah, which is why I don't go out. I can be doing with less of that. I'd rather talk to someone who's sober, to be honest." He waited slightly until someone came close, and they were soon ordering their desserts. "Sounds like you're an impressionable drunk."  
  
"Don't blame me, it's the done thing now." Eren replied playfully, shrugging. "You go out and have a good time. And by that I mean get wrecked and wake up next to someone you don't know the next morning.. just.. not in Vegas, or you end up waking up married as well as with a hangover." he teased. "So goes the urban legend, anyway."  
  
"Because waking up next to someone you don't know in the morning is a good thing?" He raised his eyebrows as he spoke. One night stands were definitely not his style. He hated the feeling afterwards.  
“Can be. Depends what the night before was like." Eren replied, shrugging. "It's a good thing because if you wake up and its awkward you can just leave, no pressure. But if you like the person you can find out more about them and arrange to meet them again. You don't have to invest energy in something that might not work just to mess around. But I take it that's now how things were done where or when you came from."  
  
"No... Not that's not what happened. Far from it."  
"Oh? Were you from the kind of age where people fainted if they saw women's calves?" Eren laughed a little. "You got me interested now."  
  
"No... You could see a woman’s calves." He smiled slightly, folding his arms on the tables surface. "You just didn't pick up random people in bars. It was disrespectful. You courted, you treated them with respect. At least, you did where I came from. The rest of the world had different ideas."  
  
"That's fair enough." Eren replied, nodding. "I get that it doesn't look like there's any respect involved if you compare it to something as old as 'courting', but.. generally, there is. Or there should be."  
  
"It's still spoken of today, or at least it is here. It might be an old tradition but people still do it." He looked as identical desserts were placed before them both, Levi having gone for the only strawberry option as well. "Whatever interests you, I suppose."  
  
"See, all this is telling me is you like it when people put thought into their date activities. That's pretty much what courting was. Is. Isn't it?" Eren asked, attacking one of his balls of ice cream with enthusiasm.  
"It just shows people are interested, and it's not just meaningless sex, like you have just described."  
"I think our opinions differ on 'meaningless'. But sure. You're right." There were two different definitions of the word ‘meaningless’? He thought that was pretty much self-explanatory, if he were honest. "It's bugging me though. Why me? Jean would have been a better fit for you, you're actually more like him."  
  
"Just because you're like someone, doesn't mean it's a good fit. Sometimes it's best not to pair with someone so similar. Things go wrong, that way."  
"I'd love to know what hasn't gone wrong about us so far, in that case." Eren challenged, smirking a little as his green eyes flickered with amusement.  
"If you are referring to us, i think it's because we aren't alike. That and you don’t seem to want to give it enough of a chance."

"Since it's honest hour.. it’s because your methodology sucks for my hunting style. It's never going to stop sucking - and it’s easier if I go back to how I was." Eren replied, sighing a little as he pushed his empty dish back and stretched, packing his sketchbook back into his bag. "Doesn't mean we can't still chat. My little 'don’t meet your heroes' rule has been thoroughly trounced by now, there's no point still being sore over that.  
  
"If there's no point, why act like it, Jaeger?" He ate the last of his ice cream quickly, moving off the bench and grabbing his scarf and jacket in the process. He pulled them both on as he went to the counter, rather than waiting for someone to come across to allow them to pay at the table. He pulled his wallet out his back pocket, and a quick conversation later and his pin number entered, he'd paid and was heading towards the door, whether Eren was behind him or not.

  
Turned out, he was following, falling in to step with him a few seconds later, keeping quiet as they walked towards HQ.The meal had thankfully got his mind off Erwin, until they'd started walking, giving himself time to think on things other than why they'd been speaking about. The mention of meaningless sex had made Erwin’s face crop up in his mind, but he'd squished it with keeping on talking.   
Now though, he just sighed lightly and hoped the blond wasn't still inside HQ. As they walked, he adjusted his scarf around his neck, zipping his jacket up a little more to fend off the cold, and slipped his hands in to his pockets.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't... really mean it like that." he said, sighing. "I'm not saying what you're doing is pointless. I just... I don't want to hurt you. I don't even want to run the risk."  
_"It's fine. I'm not some china doll so don't worry about it."_  
"I know you're not, I've spent long enough in training using your level of skill as something to aim for once I started having a fighting chance against Mikasa." he replied. "But what use am I if what happened while we were sparring happens while we have demons on us? Or Legion? If I have a panic attack out there I'm fucked and then you're alone."  
_"You won't. You even said yourself it wouldn't happen while hunting. Hanji and her team takes people's health and wellbeing rather seriously. If you weren't suitable to be out hunting, you wouldn't be. You'd be stuck in a desk job._  
  
Eren remained quiet for a long time, his expression subdued with how to reply.  
"Then it's a good job I didn't lie on the psyche tests, heh." This time his quiet chuckle was entirely mirthless. "So what has you sad? You seemed okay before."  
_"Nothing. I'm fine, and its a good job you didn't because if Hanji finds out you lied on her tests... Dread to think what she'll do."_ Eren shuddered at the thought before adopting a little bit more of a playful look as he glanced up at the skyline, the HQ building visible at the other end of the street now.  
  
"Is that an 'I'm actually fine' kind of I'm fine, or an 'I dont do talking about feelings you shitty brat' kind of fine?" he joked.  
_"Just drop it. I'm fine, alright?"_  
"Alright. No chick-flick moments." he replied, shrugging as he smiled widely.

 _"Good." He looked towards the building as they got closer, "well, I've got work to do, so I'll see you around, Jaeger."_  
"Oh.. I'll come too. I have something to do before I go home." Eren replied, keeping up instead of turning to fly off.  
"Fair enough." The remainder of their walk to the door of HQ were in silence, Levi holding the door open for Eren to walk through it. He headed towards the elevator and hit thre call button, hoping Hanji wasn't about to ambush them as the door chimed and opened quickly. He stepped in, hitting the button for the top floor as the doors closed. "Which floor?” He saw Eren look towards the panel and smiled, not answering. "Fine. Whatever." He watched the digital counter click each number and was soon heading out on to his floor, ignoring Eren as he walked out with him.   
  
Hanji was quick to pull open her door and was soon hanging out of her office, looking hopeful and excited. He walked past her without a word, Eren having turned down past her office to the kitchenette hidden between hers and Erwins. "Good date I take it?" He still didn't answer as he neared his office at the end of the corridor. "Levi?"  
"Wasn't a date and none of your business." He pushed open the door, hoping the annoyed tone and look her way was enough to keep her out.   
  
It seemed to be, thankfully, as she didn't follow him as he sat down at his desk and turned his computer on. He needed to write up of his session with Eren earlier to send along to Erwin, along with a note saying they definitely wouldn't be hunting for a while and he'd submit a full work up of their time not hunting. He knew the man wasn't here so email would have to do. If he had been, he'd have either been greeted or a message would have come through once his computer booted up fully.  
  
Levi stopped as he heard the laugh that he knew full well to be Hanji's, and wondered vaguely if she'd cornered Eren instead of cornering him. It made him smile, to think Eren was probably getting completely flustered by her questions. It vanished though, as he went back to his work, typing quickly as his eyes flicked from keyboard to monitor.   
  
He soon looked towards the door as a knock sounded and Eren half walked in, a small smile on his face as he. He was quietly walking towards his desk, setting the thermos down on the other side. He looked from it, to Eren, waiting for an explanation.   
  
"Some tea. Thanks for today... it could have ended a lot differently, but I'm glad it didn't." Then he turned, clearly intending to leave.   
"Thanks... For the drink... You didn't have to."  
"That's okay." Eren replied, pausing and turning back to Levi for a moment. "Hope you like it."  
"I'm sure I will..." He looked to it there, not exactly wanting to just ask Eren to stay outright. The teen had been able to occupy his mind enough that it stopped him thinking. Thinking was something he didn't like doing right now. "Are you heading home?"

  
"I don't have anything else to do. Unless you need me for something, then yeah, I'm going home."  
"No, not that I can think of..."  
"Alright then. I guess I'll see you later." Eren replied, shrugging and then rolling his shoulders a little as he turned to go.   
"Fly home safe..."  
  
He watched his door be shut behind the teen, Levi leaning backwards in his chair, turning to look out of his window. A few minutes later, he was seeing Eren against the darkening sky, his wings almost blending I with the deep blue of the sky. He watched him out of sight, and for a short while, his mind was blank enough that he thought of nothing.  
  
The day had been nice, he’d been able to just be himself. He hadn’t been able to do that in a long, _long_ while. He sighed as he looked to his computer screen. His life had been broken down in to a series of writing reports or receiving them. It was nice to be doing something with a new face, to be passing on what knowledge he had. It kept him occupied, and he wanted to keep doing that for as long as he could…  
  
He was up out of his chair next, heading from his office and towards Hanji’s, knocking quickly on the door and pushing it open. He was greeted by the woman with a quarter of a sandwich hanging from her mouth. He looked up, hand being brought up as she took a bite, chewing. “I need you to help me.”  
“What with sugar?” Her words were muffled slightly by the bread still in her mouth and it made him cringe a little as he leant against the doorframe.  
“Eren.”  
“Well it’s about damn time.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queue some drama, and FLUFF! :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Myst's beta'ed this for me :D
> 
> Sorry for no chapter last week, was allowing Myst to catch up so we are at the same chapter and such so we don't spoil much!! :D
> 
> Enjoy!!
> 
> Much Loves <3  
> Fira x

“When’d you find this quaint little place?” Hanji sat down next to him in the booth, a coffee in hand and a slice of cake in the other. She set them both down carefully on to the table, looking around the homey little coffee shop.  
  
“I see it every time I go to work. I’d just never been in until today, and now I’m sold on these strawberry lattes.”  
“Anything strawberry and you’re sold.” Levi smiled slightly, his fresh latte already being made as he finished off the one in his hand, Hanji having ordered him one while she ordered her own. He’d been here most of the morning, book in hand and enjoying the atmosphere. He’d even managed to finish off some paperwork regarding his training session with Eren right before Hanji had walked in the door. “Lemmie get your drink.” She smiled happily as she got back up, heading to the counter and collecting Levi’s drink. She was soon back, Levi thanking her quietly, bringing the oversized mug to his hands. It was slightly annoying that he couldn’t’ pick up the mug the way he normally would around the rim, having to use two hands instead. But it tasted good enough to let that slide, and the picture of a happy face in the foam made him smile. “Why not the Starbucks down the road?”  
“I prefer this place. That and Starbucks don’t sell this kind of sex in a cup.” He moaned quite happily as he took a sip, Hanji laughing as she unpacked her laptop.  
“Do I need to leave you two to it?”  
“Maybe, I’ll let you know if it starts getting X-rated.”  
  
He could see himself spending a lot of time here, if he were honest. It was a stone’s throw from where he lived, and not too far away from HQ. It’s make a good stop gap for if one or the other got too stuffy. Levi had always liked the bustling atmosphere that he could happily sit and watch all day, and if not, you looked down at your book or work, it didn’t even bother you when you were tucked away in the corner booth like he and Hanji were.  
  
“Why’d you want to talk to me anyway? Thought you’d be able to woo Eren all by yourself.”  
“It’s not about wooing him, Hanji. I want to be able to help him.”  
“Oh?”  
“Poor kid had a panic attack in our session yesterday.” He looked to her, seeing her frowning at her laptop screen, before her eyes looked towards him.  
“Really? He doesn’t seem the type.”  
“You should know, more than most, that anyone can suffer with such a thing. It’s something that I haven’t encountered up close. You know I’m bad at research.”  
“With me as a best friend you’d think you’d be better.” She laughed as she brought her vanilla and caramel concoction to her lips, tapping on her laptop keys to bring up whatever she intended to work on. “So what? You want to know how to deal with it if it happens again?”  
“Pretty much.”  
“What did you do yesterday?”  
“Just… tried to take his mind off it. Started rambling on about food.” Hanji smiled at that, placing her drink down to use both hands on her keyboard.  
  
“Well, that’s the best thing to do, really. Just talk to them. Help them to relax and calm down without outwardly saying ‘calm down’. Don’t crowd them, don’t stress them out more. Ask what they need, don’t just assume. That kind of thing.”  
“Sounds simple when you put it like that, four-eyes.”  
“Well, yeah,” she laughed, Levi lifting his drink to his lips again as he looked out at the people bustling about in the shop. “Most people that experience such an ailment normally know what it is that will help them out of it. Unless it’s completely brand new. I’m sure Eren will know what helps and what doesn’t help if it’s happened before sugar.”  
“Yes but I don’t want to just feel… _useless_ , if it happens. And if I can help to avoid such a reaction happening out in the field, even better.”  
“Levi, hunny that’s not how it works.” Levi frowned at that, heaving a long sigh as he looked back towards her. “You’ve never experienced it, so you probably don’t understand what happens.”  
“Why do you think I wanted to sit and talk to you about this? I want to understand.”  
  
“Well..” She sat back in the booth seat, back against the leather as she looked out the window next to Levi. “His body would have gone on high alert. His heart rate would have quickened, breathing will have increased. That helps oxygen and blood get round his body faster to vital organs. He could experience choking, nausea, dizziness and light headedness. He could start feeling weak, fatigued, muscle spasms could occur as well as a fear that you’re going crazy or you might die. Depends how bad it can get, really. His muscles would have tensed as if he were still sparring, given that since his brain will have been on red alert, he’d be able to move quickly at a moment’s notice from anything he perceived dangerous.”  
“Like what? There was nothing bar me in that room.”  
“Well, it can be anything really. The brain, once in that mode, it just remains on fearful thoughts, it will just expect for something bad to occur. Eren wouldn’t have been able to help it, something must have triggered it to begin with. Which I’m guessing with your neck.” Levi lifted his hand automatically to the angry puckered red line where Eren’s knife had sliced his throat almost the afternoon before. “That would have brought on a fear that he could have seriously hurt you, and honestly, an inch more and you would have needed stitches. Which means major medical attention as you would have lost a lot of blood, Levi. If that’s not something to set him off, I don’t know what is.”  
  
“I suppose…”  
“Probably couldn’t let go of the fear that he might have hospitalized you, or worse, killed you.”  
“So how can I help that? If he doesn’t know. I doubt he’ll openly come to you for help. It didn’t look like he knew what was happening enough to be able to help himself.”  
“You could get him to just breathe, as simple as that sounds. Slow and deep through his nose. Make sure he relaxes his muscles, get him to concentrate on himself, rather than you rambling on. Yes, ok, that works in some people, but sometimes it just distracts the person and makes them more aware that they can’t control their body. So ask him next time, what he needs from you. But don’t just go ‘brat what do I do?’” Levi frowned at her as she did her very best impression of him, it being too good for him to even be mad. “Because that’ll just panic him further. _Ask nicely_. He won’t recover and pull himself out of it all that quickly.”  
“Yeah yeah. I can be nice you know.”  
“Really?!” She feigned surprise, hand flying to her chest in horror, “I didn’t know that!!” Levi rolled his eyes there, focusing them more on to the coffee shop and its customers. It was clearly rather popular, given the amount of people coming in for lunch. He was rather grateful he’d made a beeline for the first open booth he saw in the morning rush earlier.  “Seriously though, you’ve never taken this much interest in someone before.”  
“I’m responsible for his safety, Hanji. I can’t just let it happen again and not know what’s happening. I’d never forgive myself if he hurt himself under my watch for something… trivial.”  
“It’s not trivial, Levi, it’s actually quite serious.”  
“Exactly. This is why I need to know about it. If I can’t understand the gravity of them when they happen, how am I even going to be remotely helpful and not hinder him even more?”  
“Touché.”  
  
It was always good when Hanji could correct him on things he understood wrong. To update his knowledge thoroughly enough that he knew to admit when he was wrong about something. With things like that, he honestly didn’t see what the fuss was about. He wasn’t so insensitive to just tell Eren to get over it and be done with, but he’d certainly think he’d be able to recover quicker than he now knew, thanks to Hanji. None of that seemed pleasant, and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially Eren.  
  
“How’s you and Erwin anyway?” Levi looked at her over his mug, leaving her with a confused stare. “Hey, I’m just making sure you’re alright like you’re making sure Eren is alright. I’ll have you know your wellbeing is part of _my_ job.”  
“Oh that’s how it is, is it?” She smiled sweetly, looking to her computer screen as she pulled her sponge cake slice towards her. “We’re fine. I think.”  
“You think? You don’t know?”  
“Think he regrets it.” Hanji glanced towards him, waiting for him to continue you. “He kissed me, practically melded to my couch in my office.”  
“And you’re not happy about that, I take it?”  
“Of course I’m not happy about it. He’s supposed to be giving me space, Hanj. Not tormenting me every chance he gets.” He sighed, thinking back on to Erwin pressing him in to the couch like it was no big thing, like they did it every day still. It made a small shiver run down his spine and he had to drink most of his drink to take his mind off it.  
  
“Do you want me to talk to him? I’ll beat his face in if I have to.” Levi laughed quietly at that, at just how serious she was.  
“Like I can’t do that myself, but thank you for the offer.”  
“I’m serious Levi, I’ll say something.” He shook his head, a solemn look on his face.  
“Don’t. It’ll only make it worse. I’ll handle Erwin, I always do, don’t I?” She returned his smile, nodding slightly as she went back to eating her cake.  
  
He watched her for a moment, knowing full well she’d march over to HQ right this second and punch Erwin in the face if he asked her to. She was like his sister, the best friend he could ever hope to have in his life. She always looked out for him, and he hoped that’d never change, regardless of circumstance. He knew it wouldn’t for him, not ever. He’d always be there if he needed her.  
  
And that was something he wanted to extend to the brunet currently plaguing his existence.

 

* * *

 

"We are going out!!!" He looked up from his desk, having been signing papers to say that Hanji could do some form of experiment. "I’ve decided."

"What do you mean, going out?"

"Tonight, sugar!!" She practically skipped in to his office, moving to perch herself on the edge of his desk, picking up the papers he'd just sighed with a hum of appreciation as she looked at what they were. "We aren't at work tomorrow, neither are a few other choice people, so I've arranged a little get together."

"And by choice people, you mean open invitation, and by little, you mean huge."

"No..." She pouted as she folded her arms. He could see right through her words, and she knew that full well. Maybe a change of plans were in order. "Anyway, you're going."

"I'm really not. I'm busy tonight."

"Doing what, exactly?"

"None of your business."

“If you can't tell me, you're going." He looked up at her, exasperated because he had absolutely nothing to do and they both knew it. "Great!!! I'll meet you at 7 and we can go together!" She slid off his desk, papers she’d stolen still in her hands, calling over her shoulder as she left, "I'll meet at yours. Wear something pretty!"

 

Insufferable. That's what Hanji was.

 

Levi knew full well that he wasn't getting out of this, so when 7 neared, he was dressed in a pair of skinny black, ripped jeans, boots that went to mid calf, and a faded, deep blue shirt, his normal jacket and knitted loped scarf over the top. He was leant against the door to the block of apartments, waiting for Hanji to arrive. Apparently they were going somewhere within 5 minutes of his apartment, and he didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, yet, given that he didn't exactly know who was going... But he had an inkling how'd been invited. "Good looking indeed, _Corporal_!"

"Don't push it." He pushed off the wall, heading to Hanji’s side where she looped an arm through his after he'd shoved his hands in to his pockets, thoroughly looking like the picture of someone who was being forced to go somewhere against his will. "Where are we even going??"

"This way!!"

 

* * *

 

 

Whatever it was that Hanji had brought back to the table, he really didn’t know. He just knew that it tasted fruity and wasn’t bad to drink, which was a good thing given she’d brought two pitchers of the stuff over. “Will you stop looking so miserable already?”

“Really? You asking me to not be miserable given where we are?”

“A girl can dream, can’t she?”

“I suppose. Not promise that it’ll come true though.”

“One day, Levi, one day it will.” He folded his arms as she poured the drink in to his glass, which thankfully didn’t have any ice.

 

It didn’t take long for the others to start showing up, and clearly, this wasn’t their last stop of the night. Jean was quick to place himself next to him on his left, Hanji on his right, effectively boxing him in for the foreseeable future. Clearly, the guy had been briefed in some form on how to keep Levi seated. It just meant that he wasn’t moving so people were going to have to do everything for him tonight. Which suited him just fine. He preferred to keep to himself.

 

Once Eren turned up though, matching Marco and Jean’s attire of body paint and the bare minimum clothes wise, he gave the teen a once over, wondering how on earth he wasn’t freezing his ass off. He refused to acknowledge how well he was pulling off the outfit… in more ways than one. “Didn’t start without me then. Nice of you, Jean.”

“Missing out on drinks, oh how my heart bleeds for you, Jaeger.” It was clear how comfortable the two were together. With their easy speech and sarcastic tone and comments. Just from this he could tell, he didn’t need any more than that, even if Eren claimed to not be interested in anything other than being sexed in to next week by the taller male.  
“Very funny. I’m sure I’ll catch up.” He watched as Marco got up, and Jean moved after him, watching them both leave as he reached for his own drink, bringing it to his lips for a short second and sipping it, before placing it back down on to the table. Eren was quick to take the seat next to him, Hanji already having twisted herself to talk to Armin on her other side. “Didn’t think Hanji would actually get you to come out, but I’m glad she did.”

 

Instantly, he knew that smile needed to be illegal.

He looked from Eren’s lips to his eyes, seeing him being watched, and he hesitated for a moment, turning to look around the bar. “I was half tempted to fly away to somewhere she couldn’t find me.” His voice was quieter than it needed to be, given the music, but he was damn sure that Eren would be able to hear it none the less, just making sure it didn’t catch Hanji’s attention so that the woman couldn’t interrupt them with incessant talking. “But no doubt someone would have found me,” he looked back to Eren, looking more at his shirt now, if you could call it a shirt. “Aren’t you freezing your ass off?”

 

"It's cold, sure. But the club we're headed to later will be warm enough. Either that or the alcohol will take care of it."  
  
"Well, you obviously know from experience if you do this kind of thing regularly."  
“Used to.” Eren corrected, chuckling a little. “Most hunts are night-jobs so I don’t have so much time or inclination anymore.”  
"Sure you'll find something else to hold your interest instead of clubbing."And with any luck, an interest that didn’t include covering yourself in paint. Paint which looked like it would be irritating to have on his skin, and coupling that with the threadbare clothing it looked like a rather bad interest. Or it did in his eyes, at least. He liked to at least be covered and _clean_. He was rather surprised that the group was even let in given that if you applied the shirt and shoes policy, Eren probably would have been stopped. He liked clothes covering things that ought to be covered in public. He didn't even _own_ that type of clothing. In either life.  
  
"Maybe I already have." Eren's gaze wasn't on Levi anymore, looking away himself as he picked up his drink. "To be honest I just want to tire myself out and forget how much I sucked at life this week."  
"I'm sure Kirstein will help in that request." He lifted his glass to his lips as he drank more from it, eyes on a far off part of the bar. He had no doubt that if Eren asked, the two toned blond would be more than happy to comply.  
"Nah. I'm Armin's responsibility tonight. Poor guy." Levi smirked slightly at that, glass being carefully placed on to the table by the tips of his fingers.  
“It’d probably get the same result, kid.” Hanji interrupted there by slapping his shoulder and giving him a stern look.  
“ _Behave_.” Oh so she _was_ listening, then. Which made sense, probably storing away the entire conversation between himself and Eren for a later date to twist it to make it look like one of them was flirting. He wouldn’t’ put it past her.  
“This is me behaving.” They shared a short look before she rolled her eyes and looked to Eren.  
“Excuse him, he’s a bitter old fool.” Levi almost rolled his own eyes there, lifting his drink again to take a small sip from it.

"He's sweet enough for me." Levi glanced towards the teen there, not having expected him to bite and say something like that in the slightest. He glanced to Armin briefly as the blush crept along Eren’s cheekbone, looking back to the blushing male next to him when he spoke again. "Besides, Armin's my best friend but we're not like that."

“Whatever you say, kid. The blush says otherwise.” The smirk was back on his face there, it rather entertaining to pick on Eren as much as he was. He couldn’t question the fact that the more they kept talking, though, the more he was relaxing, unknowingly to himself as it was extremely slowly. He'd now gone from completely grumpy, to more of a blankness and indifference to the situation, to actually teasing Eren. He was here now, he had to deal with it.

  
“Don’t you have anything more entertaining than tormenting me these days?”  
“Not here, I don’t. I’m stuck here till the vision impaired scientist deems I can leave.” He glanced to Hanji, who was back to occupying Armin and Marco’s attention next to him. His eyes soon looked around the bar, wondering just how long he had to stay here before he could go home and curl up with a book.  
“And what are you going to do if she doesn’t?” Eren replied, smirking. “Going to come rave with us? You’ll have to get painted up if you do.”

  
"No thanks." He looked towards Eren there, his eyes wandering over all the paint again. "The paint itself looks uncomfortable, not to mention what little clothes you _do_ have on."  
  
“Aww, that’s no fun.” Eren replied, distracting himself from Levi’s eyes on him by returning the favour, trying to redirect his thoughts to what he’d actually paint on Levi if the older nephilim decided to let him. “I bet you’d look good in red.”

"I look fantastic in red, thank you. Just not paint. Shit's unclean and looks itchy."  
“It’s not that bad once it’s dried and fixed.” Great, now the brat was _pouting_. Just what he needed to have happen. He tore his eyes away. grey eyes looking towards Jean as he returned, the former of which putting a large drink in front of Eren. “But fair enough.” The drink he was given was soon given to Levi, the man looking at it with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Hey. Less brooding, more drinking.”

"I have a drink, Jaeger." Ok, that sounded odd... But it was true, he still had half a pitcher to go through yet, Hanji having kept on topping his drink up every time she did her own.

"Well, now you have one extra."

"I don't need an extra drink..."

"I'll down mine if you do, though. That's an equal amount of suffering, right?"

"Seriously??" Eren just nodded, bringing his drink towards him carefully

 

He sighed, looking to the slim glass the drink was held in. Over the rim there were two cherries connected via their stems. Slender fingers pulled it was carefully, holding the stems between his fingers gently as his other hand reached for the glass. It took a lot to get him drunk, and he very much doubted that downing this was going to cause him to become too intoxicated after all. He was only on fruity cocktails that Hanji brought over, so far. She'd also seemed to not noticed what was about to happen, so there was that bonus. Eren counted them down and he the glass was soon at his lips, the liquid quick to vanish, finishing just after Eren's glass hit the table.

 

Levi really hadn't expected it to be as strong as it was, the cherry brandy a good burn though, he had to admit. Eren laughed besides him and his eyes soon found Hanji’s shocked expression. "The hell was that?"

"What did it look like?" He crossed his legs under the table as he spoke, looking for all intents and purposes, very nonchalant.

"It looked like you were having _fun_."

"What can I say? You said you liked single Levi."

"I do... But wasn't expecting it so soon." Levi smirked, pulling the drink Hanji had brought towards him, breaking one cherry from the stem carefully once he had. It was soon in his mouth, the small stone passing his lips slowly in to thumb and finger, placing it in to the empty glass. He repeated the process again, leaning forwards as he eat the cherries slowly, twirling the stems between forefinger and thumb absentmindedly. "Can you still knot those?" He pulled the stems apart and one half was soon in his mouth, it moving slightly as his tongue worked the stem in to a knot, and a moment later, he was pulling it carefully from between his lips, showing Hanji before placing it in to the glass he'd just down the brandy from.

 

"I can do that party trick too." he looked to the glass, having been stunned sight he fact Eren's mouth had been so close to his hand as he pulled the cherry stem from between his fingertips.

"Fuck Jaeger, keep your mouth to yourself." His wiped his fingers on his sleeve lightly, as if Eren has touched them with his teeth or lips, when he hadn't in the slightest as he leant back, eyes looking towards the teen looking towards him. "You could have just asked me to give it to you."

"Sorry! Didn't mean to get you too."

 

Levi made a noise of agreement that Eren should have been less childish and just asked, becoming unhappy looking again as he sat back in the booth seat and folded his arms. Grey eyes were in the tied cherry stems now at the bottom of his glass, frowning at them slightly. He blamed Hanji entirely, for bringing him here for that to happen really. If he'd have stayed home with a book he wouldn't be in this situation at all.

 

He was soon watching Eren get up and follow Jean away eyes lingering in the pair for a moment before reaching out to take hold of his glass, listening to Hanji enquire and Armin answer her. “They're probably going to race them, the idiots. If either of them can walk home by the time we're done I'll be surprised."

"Isn't that what they are going for?" Armin gave him a strange look so he elaborated. "Getting blind drunk. Seemed like Jaeger was use to such things." He brought his glass to his lips, drinking from it carefully before placing it back down, licking his lips slowly as he did so, Hanji nudging him slightly.

"You didn't have to snap at him." He rolled his eyes slightly, folding his arms tightly back across his chest.

"He's too drunk to notice I did, anyway. Not my kind of night. You know this." His voice lowered again as Hanji leant towards him a little more.

"I know it's not." Her voice was equally as quiet, "but you need friends outside of me and to get out a little more pumpkin."

"Such things only bite you in the ass," he knew it all too well. You connected and made that bond with someone and they left. They walked out your life like it didn't mean a damn thing. The last time he was properly out like this, would have been with them, he supposed, and that was a decade or so ago. He still felt bitter over it, and he had to down half his drink to try and chase away the thoughts.

 

“Oh my _fucking_ god." It was strange, hearing such words from Armin’s mouth. Even Hanji raised an eyebrow and she spent the most time with him out of the pair of them. Grey eyes followed Armin's gaze, stopping as he saw Eren gripping a pole connected to the ceiling and the bar.

"Wow." Hanji laughed as she spoke, the table watching as Armin rush over and tried to get Eren down to little success. "Maybe you should go help. He'll listen to you, if you know what I mean."

"I doubt it. He looks like he's having fun for $25." He picked his glass up and raised it to his lips, draining it, thankful Hanji waited till he had finished before speaking.

"Really? Or are you just enjoying the pleasant view?" He glanced back, seeing the fishnet top having been pulled up more as Eren slid down against it with his back.

"I was until he got up on the bar, I'll admit."

"Not now?" He glanced to Marco, seeing him more interested in the bar, the teen soon getting up to go help Armin.

"My type isn't that, thanks." Hanji laughed, nudging him again as he grabbed for his coat and scarf.

"If you stopped thinking about Commander Handsome, you'd be surprised at what your type is, hunny."

"Pass." She leant over quickly, giving him a peck on the cheek, making him mumble incoherently as he pulled the scarf over his head twice quickly and pulled his jacket on, sliding out of the booth. "Say goodbye for me."

"Will do boss."

 

It didn't take him long to get home, thankfully only living round the corner form the bar. He was soon unlocking the bottom door and heading up the several flights of stairs to the top floor and unlocking his own door and heading in, locking it behind him. His keys and phone where thrown on to the table and he pulled his boots off, leaving them near to the door.

 

A shower and a clothes change later and he was curled up in bed by 11, not waking up until a bang startled him in to sitting upright. His reflexes and years of hunting didn’t really allow him to sleep all that deeply, but he didn't catch all the words, but enough of them.  
  
"Who was mean enough to put that there?" His bedroom door was wide open, allowing the sound to travel enough to him. He slipped out of bed after seeing it was nearly 03:30AM. He sighed, padding shirtless, barefoot and in sweatpants to the door, pulling it open quietly after unlocking it, as to not make any more noise than the teen already had.

 

How the hell he'd found out where he lived, he didn't know, nor did he know how he’d got through the bottom door without buzzing in. And didn't want to know, if he were honest. The teen was resting against the door frame, and looked towards him as he opened it. "Hi." he could tell just how drunk Eren was by looking at him, he didn't need to hear the elongated greeting from where Eren was on the floor.

"Eren it's half 3."

"Is it? Well, we got Hanji to come with us, so you're coming too next time. I kinda got sepe.. split up? Split off? One of them.."

"You got separated and came here?" He was so tired it was unreal, he'd barely been asleep before Eren had banged on his front door.

"Yeah. That."

"Why didn't you just go home?"

"You're closer.. so Hanji said, anyway. And I wanted to see you. My bad?"

 

Hanji. That made perfect sense.

He dragged a hand down his face and looked towards Eren, knowing full well he couldn't leave him there all night and through the morning. "No, it's not, it's fine. Get your tight ass off the floor."

"Mmkay. S'probably a good idea, it's not very comfy."

"No I don't imagine it is. Come on, get in. It's cold out here." He moved aside so that Eren could go past him after gesturing him inside once he was stood. He closed the door behind him, locked it, and helped guide the teen towards the sofa. Levi didn't half hope this would be quick to take care of, purely because he was the walking dead and just wanted to go back to bed.

"You're nicer than you pretend you are, you know."

"Yeah yeah, I'm a saint. Down." He gestured to the sofa and watched as Eren obeyed and fell sideways.

 

He walked away quickly, padding through the dark apartment to his kitchen, grabbing a glass blindly to save Eren's eyes and filled it with water from the fridge. He figured the colder the better, as he took it back across, placing it on the coffee table along with a pack of aspirin from the dining table on his way past. They might heal quicker, but it couldn't hurt. "You're a cute grumpy saint."

"And you’re an idiotic, drunken child. Drink that."

 

He pointed to the glass of water through the dark, thankfully there was a bit of light given the blinds were all open in here and the kitchen, but he wandered away quickly, heading to his bedroom and turning on the light. He fell to his knees carefully next to his bed and pulled a draw open, slowly, soon pulling out a fluffy red blanket. He bundled it up after pushing the draw closed with his foot, leaving his light on as he headed out the room and back to Eren. Thankfully, he had glass and tablets in hand to knock back.

"Well I'm your idiotic drunken child now. Or something..." a few tablets and downed water later, he was laying back on to the sofa, Levi unraveling the blanket. "Poor you."

"Yeah yeah, poor me, come on, shoes off."

"'Kay. Sorry if I scarred you earlier. Didn't mean to cross any boundaries." He sat down next to him as he watched Eren move to take off his shoes, wondering if he was going to need help, but seemed to get on just fine. Where in the hell did he sign up for this? Because he couldn't remember and wanted to unsigned from the dotted line.

"It's alright. Don't worry about that. You didn't cross anything."

"Good. I was worried.. because you were frowning. And that's not good."

"You don't need to worry about me kid, I always frown. Worry about yourself and getting your shoes off."

"I tried to hate you but I can't, so now I'm worrying. That's just me, I'm afraid." Brat surely had other things other than him to worry about. Though, he supposed it was a nice sentiment to not be hated by him. That was one tick of his list that he needed to fix. "S'done.."

 

"Good, come on," Levi stood quickly with the blanket still in his hands, so Eren could lie down, "lie down properly." He was definitely in full 'mothering mode', so to speak, since that was clearly what was going to get Eren to sleep quicker. Shouting at him wasn't going to help matters. He watched him lay down and as he spoke again, he threw the blanket over him fully, perching near Eren's chest as he grabbed the empty glass.

"Okay.. sorry, I just kinda turned up, didn't I?"

"I'd rather you show up here than somewhere anyone could find you, kid, least people will know you're safe here." If Eren hadn't told anyone where he was headed, Hanji would already have a decent idea of where he'd have gone if she pointed his building out. She wouldn't have done that if she hadn't have known Eren might end up here if they got separated. He'd message her though, just to make sure she told Jean and Armin.

 

"At least you're not lonely now." Where had that come from? Why was Eren even saying such a thing? He took a few breaths as he thought the words over for a few seconds, looking to the glass in his hands.

"You're a rather emotional drunk, Jaeger."

"I'm a rather emotional everything. 'Sides, I'm not drunk, you're sober." He smirked at that, Eren clearly so far gone he probably wouldn't even know where he was in the morning, or lunchtime, given that he guessed Eren would sleep in on such a morning after heavy drinking.

"Yes ok, state the obvious, kid."

"Not sure why, but 'kay. The obvious?" He outright chuckled at that, looking back to Eren through the dark from the glass still in his hands.

"Get some sleep, I'll fill this up for you." He waved the glass slightly as he spoke about getting more water, starting to get up, only to be stopped in the action as arms were quick to slide around his shoulders as Eren sat up.

"I'm not tired, though. Just slightly tipsy."

"Slightly tipsy? You head butted my front door, Eren." Levi's right hand moved from holding the glass to one of Eren's forearms where it was now against his chest. He was ready to push him off, but the warmth of the teen made him pause.

"Yeah, I did," he heard him giggle, felt it through his back, "that kinda hurt."

"Meaning you’re pissed off your face. Let go, I'll be here in the morning."

"Do I have to? You're warm.."

"Yes you do. I wanna sleep, Eren. Like you should be doing right now."

"Okay. Go sleep then. Night, Levi."

 

He felt Eren's arms slip from around him and he stood up, quick to refill the glass in the kitchen and place it back down on to the coffee table, leaving the aspirin there just in case. "Night kid," his voice as quiet now, "sweet dreams."

 

He moved away quickly, part way shutting his door, so it was ajar, and turned his light off, quick to crawl back under the covers.

He was definitely sleeping in now after all that, and he hoped Eren would actually sleep and not disturb him too much. He also hoped he didn't panic when he woke and remembered where he was. There were signs to say who's house it was anyway, hell if Eren looked by the door he'd see his boots by the door and his jacket hung up on the coat rack along with his harness hung up to save it getting tangled.

 

Levi sighed as he looked up to his dark ceiling, able to hear Eren moving about on the sofa until he fell still, obviously moving to try and get comfy. It did make him smile slightly, that Eren had ended up here, actually able to get himself up to the roof and down to his floor. He was rather impressed he knew which door to pick, since they weren't exactly labelled all that well. That was the only way Eren would have been able to bypass the security door on the bottom floor, now he thought about it. He was shocked he could fly straight, given how much alcohol he must have drank.

 

He woke at 10:10AM stretching out fully before going still and staring at his ceiling. Levi couldn't hear Eren knocking about, so he must still be asleep. He sighed lightly as he moved, heading towards his bathroom, stripping once he got in there and hopped in the shower. It was a welcome warmth, the apartment feeling oddly cold this morning. He spent a little longer in there, enjoying the hot water and was dressed and cooking breakfast at 11. Eren was dead to the world and didn't even wake to the smell of eggs and bacon, and it made him smile, the teen still bundled up on the sofa. He even refilled the glass of water that he’d refilled before bed gone to bed, so that he wasn't waking up to stale water.

 

Come 12 o'clock, saw him cleaning, changing his bedding and tidying up in general. The apartment was already somewhat pristine, and he was probably going overboard, but this was what his normal was, after all. He couldn't abide the place being untidy at the best of times, never mind when people where here with him. As he moved towards the bathroom, depositing the old bedding in to the laundry basket he barely heard Eren, moving around to see if he were awake and seeing he was, a quick glance at the clock on the wall told him the time, and he went about tidying his books away. "Sleeping beauty is finally awake, then?"

 

"Sorry, I shouldn't be here.. Don't remember what happened last night." He placed the books on the shelf carefully, turning to see Eren moving, pulling on his shoes and was quick to stand, folding the blanket up carefully. "Shit.. How much did I even drink?" He frowned, watching Eren drag a hand through his hair, moving past him slightly before stopping as he noticed his expression of relief.

"You don't need to leave in a rush, Jaeger." He didn't know whether or not he needed to be offended, with the speed in which Eren wanted to leave. Despite him having said he wanted to see him while drunk, clearly the sober version of him didn't want anything to do with him, and that both hurt and annoyed him, for some reason.

 

He'd effectively put himself in between Eren and the exit, to try and stop him leaving in a hurry. He'd actually planned to go out once the teen had woken, since it was lunchtime and the coffee shop he intended to go to with him did the best lattes and actually a decent variety of sandwiches. Failing that, there was a sandwich shop straight across the road they could go to. Levi wanted to at least make sure Eren are and drank something before he let him out his sight, and since breakfast time had come and gone, lunch was his next best option. That was, if Eren even agreed to go.

"Sorry.. I presumed you wouldn't want me here. Knowing me I didn't exactly give you chance to leave me to rot." he replied sheepishly. "Although I wouldn't blame you if you did because I seem to remember something about dancing on a bar about the time you left."  
  
"You gave me chance. Hell if I hadn't opened the door you'd probably have found yourself asleep against it when you woke up." He looked to his kitchen, wanting to wash the remaining pots on the side before he left, because he was going with or without Eren. "Though I think you almost gave Arlett a heart attack."

"Oh? Heh.. you'd think he'd be used to that by now. Hanji came with us to the paint party and helped him not die of a coronary after you left." It was amusing to think Hanji had caved and gone with them. He was happy that she had though, that him not being there hadn't stopped her. He always felt like it did when he was there, somehow. Though he figured Eren was slightly put out by him not going because Hanji had even gone with them. "Do you mind if I borrow your shower quickly? The water helped but I still feel really rough.."

"Sure, take as long as you need." He gestured to the bathroom door, about to move towards the kitchen when Eren continued speaking.

"Thanks. I know you ran away early, and I can't blame you because it didn't seem to be your thing, but did you at least have fun?"

"Not my thing no... Glad Hanji had a good time at least. I've not even checked my phone but I'm sure there'll be texts from her sat waiting."

"Still. I'll get you to a paint party someday. You'd look pretty bad ass all neon... and wow I must be still drunk because I'm not thinking before I say things, clearly."

 

"It'll be a feat of you can get paint on my kid, I won't do it willingly."

"Not even for a photo?" That confused him enough to pull a frown on to his face, looking towards Eren, his voice full of confusion.

"Why would there need to be a photo?"

"Because then you don’t have to wear the paint all night but you still have proof you lived dangerously for an hour or so? And it might look arty on your wall?" A small smirk pulled on to his face at that, folding his arms.

"Who says I don't live dangerously already?"

"Me."

"And you know me enough to say it do you?"

"In terms of living dangerously you're definitely not keeping up with me. Maybe let Hanji get you to do something stupid for money? It might be a laugh."

"That might be your thing Jaeger, but that's definitely not mine. I know her mind, and I'd rather not subjugate myself to it for money..."

 

His frown was gone as he began to speak, letting himself turn slightly annoyed again, not liking Eren questioning his way of living when the teens was a mash together of partying, barely looking out for his life and screwing his friend every other night. At least he could find the meaning in being a Nephilim.

Ok that might have been a tad mean, even for him.

 

"Aww. Well, sorry Hanji, I tried." Levi watched as Eren moved past him, shrugging as he went, wondering if Hanji had said something to Eren for him to mention such a topic, if he was voicing apologies. "All I mean is you're too good at your job for hunting to be 'living dangerously' anymore. I'll be right back!"

 

He watched him out of sight, sighing lightly as he headed for the sink, beginning to fill it with warm, soapy water.

Maybe Eren was right, not that he was ever going to tell him that or do anything on it. He liked where he was at right now, he supposed. Hell, he was still getting used to being single and Erwin-less.

Hunting was dangerous enough for him because he was still able to take the threat seriously, that at any point of a hunt you could lose your life or whoever was hunting alongside you could. That thought alone made him angry as he grabbed the sponge on the side, turning the taps off and beginning to wash the dishes in the water. It sounded like Eren was already in the shower and he was hoping to hell he wasn't using his sponge or washcloth, feeling like he didn't get chance to brief the teen on what he could and couldn't use, and feeling like he'd need to crack open the new packets of things early, just to be sure no one had used them.  
  
He remembered when Erwin did one night, just to wind him up. He’d sent him out to buy new stuff, and made sure it was the expensive sponges and clothes that the blond could possibly find. The thought made him smile, until he had to remind himself that he was not thinking about Erwin today.

 

"I'm done. And I didn't mess up your system in there. Did you have any plans?"

"Better not have done either..." He mumbled to himself as he placed the last dish on the draining board, grabbing a small hand towel from the counter to his side after pulling the plug, turning and leaning back against it. "Actually...." He began to dry his hands slowly as he looked core Eren's outfit. "Do you mind going out in that or do you want to go home and change first??"

"I'm good like this. I still have my leather jacket if it gets too cold."

"Then, how's lunch sound?"

"Sounds good to me, I think I slept through breakfast."

"Bacon didn't even wake you, give me a minute okay?"

"Wow, must have been dire if bacon didn't work. I'll be here till you're ready."

 

He folded the small towel up and placed it back where he picked it up from, nodding to Eren's response and headed to his bedroom.

Levi was quick to hunt out socks and pull them on to his feet. He fished out a jacket quickly, wearing a blue version of his black one and pulling it and a matching, pale blue scarf that, along with the jacket, made a combo that made his eyes 'pop' rather well according to Erwin. He moved out of his bedroom, phone being slid in to the back pocket of his jeans as he moved past Eren, pulling on his boots and grabbing his wallet and keys from where they'd ended up on the table. "Ready??" Eren nodded, Levi leading them out of his apartment and locking the door behind them.

It wasn’t long until they were walking in to the welcoming warmth of the coffee shop that he was beginning to fall incredibly in love with. He shook himself off, already pulling his scarf from around his neck carefully, looking back as he realised Eren had stopped at the door.

  
"Wow, this looks a lot nicer than a Starbucks.".

"That's actually what drew me in. Though the specials board outside helped a few days back." He headed over towards the person behind the counter, the guy beaming at him happily.

"Back again so soon?" It was obviously a quiet hour, maybe they'd missed the lunch rush?

"Testing out your tuna panini this time." It was the same person that had served him last time and he felt Eren stop next to him.

"Can do! Strawberry latte again or are you trying something new?"

"I'll stick with the latte. What do you want Jaeger?" He looked to Eren standing next to him, waiting somewhat patiently for him to respond.

"Eh, dealer's choice. I presume you know what's good if you're a regular.."

"I wouldn't call three lattes in one afternoon being a regular." And they'd all been exactly the same as what he'd just ordered to boot. He had no shame in ordering the same again.

"It's three lattes more than me, that makes you the experienced one." The wink he was given at the end of the words made him sigh, almost rolling his eyes at the sass.

"He'll have a chocolate mocha and a chicken and bacon panini."

"Coming right up, if you wanna pay now, I can bring them over."

 

Levi’s wallet was out quicker than even the barista could blink, and he was paying with cash quickly after. He accepted the change and headed straight over to the far corner nook nearest the window, happy to slide on to the seat and begin to take his scarf and jacket off. "Hope the panini order was alright."  
"It's fine, I'll eat anything that stays still long enough right now, honestly."  
  
The second that the latte was brought over with their food he was pulling it towards him first, fingers wrapping around the outside of the overly large mug and looking at the star pattern in the top of the foam. He looked down at it and inhaled the smell as he lifted it, soon drinking from it carefully and slowly as his eyes closed. Hands down this place made the best lattes and he'd only been here twice.   
  
The strawberry taste was divine, it was just the right amount of everything, and he couldn't complain. The small noise of happiness that bordered on a not safe for public moan, said as much. Levi placed it back on the saucer carefully, licking his lips slowly to rid them of any foam. Grey eyes looked to his panini, pulling it towards him and glancing to Eren, not seeing him eating. It prompted him to look to his face to see if there was something wrong with the food, only to find him being stared at. "Is something wrong with your food?"  
"No.. just.. the need for caffeine came first." He could understand that, Eren drink did look like a work of art within itself, if he were honest. He looked back to his food.   
"Good mocha?"  
"Yeah, it's good."  
"Good. This place is amazing. So glad I found it." He lifted his panini and took a bite, the food tasting just as good as the latte did, but didn't elicit anymore noises from him as he slowly ate the toasted sandwich.   
  
"It seems like a good place for bookworms. Armin would love it. Is there a story there or was it just pot luck, finding it?"   
"Not particularly. I see it every day on the way in to HQ. I was going to get something light from the shop across the road but I saw they had cheesecake, so I headed in here instead. Then I saw their drinks menu." He took another few bites after he'd spoke, mind thoroughly on picking up his mug and sitting back in the booth and devoting all his focus to it.   
'Heaven's Strongest' seduced by a cheesecake eh? Figures." He smirked, pulling his drink towards him, leaving half the panini for a moment as he picked up the mug. _  
"Strawberry_  cheesecake." He took a large mouthful and made another noise, this one more sinful than the last. He honestly didn't even realise how sexual he sounded. "And I could  _marry_  that latte." He placed it down again and picked up the other half of his toasted sandwich, licking his lips again slowly.   
  
"Oh I see, so  _I'm_  not good enough for a rebound, but that coffee is?"  
"Hmmm." It seemed that every other day Eren was bringing this up. That he clearly wanted to get him in to bed if he were going on about it all the time.   
"What's the hmm for?"  
"You seem to want to get me horizontal pretty badly, kid."  
"I can see straight over you anyway, why do I need to get you horizontal?" Kid was such a brat it was almost comical. The grin he undoubtedly had wouldn't help either, thankfully he was focusing on the remnants of his panini.   
"Trust me, it works better horizontally. Not that I can fathom why you are so offended that you can't have me 6 ways from Sunday in your bed." After he spoke he finished off his food and leant backwards, mug held between both hands as he looked down at it, sipping it carefully.   
  
"Most people get offended when told they aren't even worth one night, that’s why." Levi saw the teen shrug out of the corner of his eye. "Then again, it wouldn't work for us anyway, we're colleagues. You wouldn't just get it on with your boss would you?" He sighed lightly after he swallowed the mouthful of strawberry latte. Clearly Eren hadn't realised what he'd said, or the actual depth of what his and Erwin's relationship had been. He obviously thought it was a series of nights worth of sex like he and Jean shared. "Shit. Wait. Sorry, forget I said that. That's really not helping."  
"No. Not helping at all. I don't have one night stands, Jaeger. Really not who I am." His face slowly became annoyed as he spoke, and once he finished talking he sipped at his warm drink, looking around the place, to the door as someone walked in. He'd barely even looked at Eren since this conversation began, and he didn't intend to if he could help it.   
"Yeah.. For a 'no chick flick moments' person you're a bit of a romantic, sometimes."  
"Oh, what makes you think I'm a romantic?"  
  
His eyes followed a young couple to the counter, and then went to the person who'd served them earlier as he cleaned down a table across the other side of the small coffee shop. He had to admit, the teen was right after all. Not that he was going to confirm it, of course. He did like to be romanced and give a little romance in return. A rose here, dinner there. It wasn't too much to ask when you're with someone at the end of the day. It started that way with Erwin, but steadily dwindled to just sex and a movie. Then eventually not even the movie.   
  
"Speaking as someone who's thoroughly guilty of it too, you seem to form really close attachments to people and then don’t think twice about going out of your way for the people you actually give a shit about." He'd rather form close attachments than one night stands and flings that left you feeling dirty the morning after. He wasn't free of them, they'd plagued around a year of his life when before he was married or raising a small child. Though he hated remembering such times, always wanted a shower when he did.   
"If that kind of thing works for you kid, I tip my metaphorical hat to you."   
"No, it doesn't work for me. Given it's the reason I'm still a fucking mess over things that happened a whole year ago." He drained his drink as Eren spoke, placing it carefully on the saucer with a small clink, rather hoping he could go get another one. He was going to stay, even if Eren wasn't. Hell, he'd walk down the street and grab a new book from the bookstore and come back, if he did. 

  
"Then why bother with close attachments if it's just going to hurt you in the long run?"   
"Because if I let it change me that much, then I've lost. I didn't come here to lose any more parts of me."  
"Then don't let it change you. Simple. What does and doesn't change you is entirely within your control."  
"I won't. That's what I have you for.. just should've seen it sooner." He folded his arms across his chest, glancing to Eren to see him looking at his now empty glass. He looked to the door as it opened again, purely just watching the world go by.   
"I'm not the best example you should have. Sure you have other people, Jaeger."  
"You're good enough for me."  
  
The comment made him shift, folding his left leg over his right as his arms became tenser. Eren had already stated he wasn't chick flickey in the slightest, he didn't want such a conversation. He looked round at him, blank look back in place. "Do you want another drink?"  
  
He shook his head and placed the cup down, leaning back in his chair and rubbing at his eyes. "No, thanks. I should probably go. Already stressed you out enough with my stupidity for one day." he muttered absently, making no move to leave despite his words. "Shit like this is why I should stay behind my sketchbooks and just not talk.”  
  
"You just need practice." He slid off the seat, bracing himself on the table so he wouldn't fall. He grabbed his wallet out his back pocket. "Meaning yes. You want another drink." He moved away from the table and headed towards the counter, ordering the same again quickly once the other people had been served.

He waited until both had been made, glancing back to Eren for a moment before looking back to the counter. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, to stick around or not, to prolong this contact and good vibe that they’d got going. There was only a slight blip when the teen hadn’t been thinking, something Levi was sure he was going to start and have to get used to in regards to Eren, but otherwise they were getting along quite well. Which was exactly what he wanted. He wasn’t quite sure why he wanted this to work so much, but he did. Maybe because Eren was making it a special kind of challenge he couldn’t back down from and disappoint Hanji? Who knows why, but he didn’t want to stop now he’d started.

 

He returned a few minutes later to find their table had been cleared, meaning he could just slide the tray on to the table that was holding the two drinks. Levi sat back down next to the teen, pulling the try towards them, pulling his own drink closer before picking it up carefully and placing it in front of himself.

 

There was a floral design in the slightly pink foam this time and it made him pause, actually wondering how they managed to put the patterns and designed in to the foam without killing the drink completely with too much milk or cream.  
  
"Do you mind if I nap? It’s not getting too close if I sleep on my jacket.." He heard the hesitance in the teen’s voice and it made him look towards him, placing his mug down slowly as he stared towards Eren. The male of which was giving his best puppy dog impersonation, and he eventually caved, shrugging as Eren moved. He wasn’t keen or thrilled about such actions within the public eye, and they weren't even together. The booth was high enough and they wouldn't be bothered as long as he made his drink last, which he could he supposed. He just hoped the workers wouldn't be opposed to this occurring and kick them out. He was quite set on making this a regular place for himself to escape to.

 

As Eren settled down he pulled his phone out of his own jackets pocket, it lain next to them, and slid his thumb across the screen to unlock it, choosing to read an eBook on his phone while Eren was where he was. Levi couldn’t help but try his hardest to take his mind off what was happening, of Eren shifting slightly in his lap. It worked quite well, getting in to the book on his phone quite easily.

He went in to thorough autopilot, though, as Eren fell still, and after 10 minutes or so, his free hand was at Eren’s hair, his fingers pulling through the strands slowly, barely even aware he was doing such an action. It was the norm for him, he'd always done it while Erwin was in the position Eren was in when they'd been watching a movie, or it was done to him to lull him to sleep.

“You're surprisingly comfy." The second Eren had moved his hand had pulled away and was clenched in to a fist as he realised what he'd been doing. His hands were soon holding his phone, forearms resting against the table as he moved forwards. "Thanks. I slept better there than I did all night… weird."

"Yeah… weird." He glanced up from his phone to look around the coffee shop, no one seeming put out that Eren had just had his head in his lap. He felt like they should have done, and it put him on edge more not knowing if they did. If there was one thing about this century he was getting to grips with, 90% of the time people were good at hiding what they were really feeling. He still didn't quite understand it, but instead of staying on the thought, Eren cleared his throat, causing him to glance to him to see him putting his jacket on.

"I have to get going... kind of need to check and make sure Armin knows I'm still alive and isn’t burying himself in work given that it’s the weekend."

"Ok. Sure. Yeah. See you on Monday. Enjoy your weekend."

"You too." He looked back to his phone as Eren stood, though his eyes soon wandered and grey soon watched him leave, the teen not looking back. He sighed, placing his phone down and leaning backwards, a hand running over the bottom half of his face.

 

He wasn't one for public displays such as Eren just coaxed him in to doing, even when he was with someone. He and Eren weren't even a couple. Hell, before last night he wasn't even sure if Eren liked him as a person. Apparently he'd tried his damnedest to hate him, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Levi wasn't sure if that was something on his part or Eren's, but he found himself being thankful of the fact since it seemed they were starting to get along. At least, to a point.

 

He didn't know how he'd react if Eren decided he wanted something more, since it was quite obvious he did even if he hadn't decided on it yet. Given the fact he was so put out with not being used as a rebound sex toy, and him lounging on him napping, Eren couldn't deny it if he were to sit down and think about it, he imagined.

Levi on the other hand, he was still reeling from Erwin, and didn't want to use anyone as a rebound in the slightest. He didn't want to toy with anyone in such a way or himself, including cute brunets that were currently 'with' someone, even if they were just fucking around the place.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8!! Wheeeee
> 
> Between last posting, which i do apologise has been a heck of a while, something amazing happened!!!
> 
> http://firanna.tumblr.com/post/125466983237/thenewinshayneity-this-is-a-cropped
> 
> thenewinshayneity (( http://thenewinshayneity.tumblr.com/ )) over on tumblr is currently doing commissions!!! I am so thrilled and honoured to have had them do Levi from this fic. I can't stop looking at him and i urge everyone, if you are looking for someone to do a commission, you won't be disappointed if you go to Shay :)
> 
> I really hope that you enjoy the chapter that follows. i'm still beta'ing it myself, so i am really really sorry for any errors :)
> 
> Hopefully we will be posting a bit more frequently now too!!
> 
> Enjoy x

"Is this really necessary, sir?"  
"Yes. Entirely necessary." Levi leant against the wall close by to where Armin was sat fidgeting on a bench. It was clear the request had been a confusing one and Armin obviously wanted to carry on working upstairs. "Would you rather you were going a round with me?"  
"No!!" His head snapped towards him and Levi smirked as he looked to the door, awaiting Eren walking through it. "I mean... No disrespect but I’d be no match for you."  
"It's not about being a match for someone. It's about coaching them to a better standard, Arlett. In regards to Jaeger, he's holding out on me and I need to know if he does the same with someone else."  
"But  _me_ , sir? He's comfortable with me."  
"Exactly. Means he shouldn't hold back. Especially if he knows I'm here to break it up before it gets too far."  
"You'd do that?" Armin sounded surprised, and that irked him.   
"I wouldn't let anyone under my instruction get hurt, or id get hurt stopping it."  
  
The door pushed open there, Levi's eyes still having been trained on to it. “Got your memo.” the second the teen saw Armin sat close by, he could tell what he was thinking. His whole demeanour changed to that of a somewhat nervous or apprehensive outline. “Tell me this isn't what I think it is.”  
“Sorry, Eren, but it’s exactly what you think it is.”  
  
"The mushroom is right." He gestured to Armin for him to stand and follow, happy that he did. "I need to see your fighting skills from a point of view that's not in front of you." He moved on to the mat, his feet already bare and was grateful he'd forgone wearing his harness today. All he was wearing were a pair of thin, baggy, black linen trousers and a grey tank top, allowing his body room to breathe. He was thoroughly expecting to be in here past lunchtime. He'd had an urge the evening prior and he was happy to spend his entire morning sparring.   
"Promise I'll go easy on you. I know you still whine like a little bitch when you get your wings trapped."   
"Quiet, you traitor. I do no such thing. Fine. I'll play along, but for the record I don't like this." He circled around them, moving towards the wall, out of the way.   
"You don't need to like it. You just need to do it. Arlett was well aware before he agreed to come down here what he was signing up for."  
"Alright. I said I'd learn from you so if this is what you need... just don't let me hurt him too badly." Before Armin could vocalise the sly comment of him not being a china doll any louder than he already had, he was quick to speak.   
"If he can't stop you, you know I will. I won't let you hurt him."  
  
The way Armin fought was starkly different to how Levi did – where he was still and careful and calculated every move and outcome ahead of time, Armin was skittish and restive, relying vastly on the speed of both his brain and his body to keep him out of Eren’s reach. It was obviously a poorly matched fight, though, because it took Eren a fraction of the same effort to turn the tables on him. A swift roundhouse kick to the solar plexus cut short another attempt to evade him, and then as Armin doubled over, completely winded and choking, he wrapped an arm across his shoulders, coiled one ankle around the back of his and slammed the shorter blond to the matted floor, pausing to let him recover. His expression was patient, careful, nothing like the agitation and wariness that had shown with him.  
  
It was clear he’d let his guard down as he folded his arms, waiting for Armin to get up, so he was totally clothes-lined as Armin swung both heels up and then kicked him square in the forehead, sending him sprawling across the matting with a hiss of pain, white lights popping behind his eyes.  
“You little shit.” he groaned from the floor, rubbing his head as he tried to get the world to stop spinning. “That wasn’t nice.”  
“Neither is underestimating me.” Armin informed him primly. “Now get up and try again.”  
“Fuck,” he whined, having heard that particular order too many times in this life already from their silent observer. “Since when did you start sounding like Levi..”  
“Since you started letting your guard down for a pretty face. Get your ass up and take me seriously, Eren.”  
“I’ll take you something, alright.” Not about to be lectured, Eren pulled himself back to his feet and ploughed straight back in, vowing that he wasn’t going to be satisfied with just putting Armin on the floor. This time he was going to pin him and keep him there until he felt like moving again.  
  
"Which is definitely why I didn't choose Kirstein for this. Stop with the chatter. Again."

Grey eyes locked with sea green for a few brief seconds before Eren tore his gaze away and back to Armin, both males dropping in to respective stances. "Take each other seriously." Or he was going to want to step in and show them what taking someone seriously looked like. He figured just himself volunteering would make at least Armin think twice. He hoped he didn't have to, though.  
  
After the small interruption they were going again as if they hadn’t stopped the delicate process of trying to floor each other in the slightest. Just like him, Armin dodged everything he could, and Eren took another kick to the shoulder for his lack of paying attention. This time, though, he allowed his body to twist with the blow, grabbing the leather strapping around Armin’s calf and yanking him sharply off balance.  
  
The blond let out a startled yelp, flailed, and then fell, using his arms to catch himself before he hit the floor and spinning his other leg around to kick the back of Eren’s head. The attempt caused Eren’s hands to slip from the leather as Armin dropped to the floor and then shifted his centre of gravity low and aimed for Eren’s gut, trying to get him to the floor by putting his wings into the movement.  
  
It worked, and Armin ended up straddling him, but the blond ended up surprise when Eren closed his eyes. The second Eren's legs moved up and over Armin’s wings he pushed off the wall, his body tensing slightly as he moved. It was a near perfect copy of how he'd held Eren. If he curled his feet just that little bit more it would be bang on.  _"You’re not even trying, are you?"_  he observed the hold more as Armin's hand went to Eren's neck. He didn't know what shocked him more; that Eren had been able to replicate the hold nearly perfectly or the fact Eren had clearly been paying close attention to him when he's done it.  _“‘Don’t let me hurt him’, my ass.”_  His eyes connected with Armins for a short few seconds before he looked away as Levi nodded a small nod.   
  
He was more interested in how Eren had made Armin immobile. If Eren snapped on that position he wasn't going to be able to help much without Armin getting hurt. He didn't think Eren would ever get the chance to practise the move enough to replicate it so well, so he'd use force without thinking too much on it. He didn't think that Eren would pick up on it so quickly. It worried him he'd inadvertently taught him something to fight Nephilim with and that really hadn't been his intention.  
  
“It’s not going to work, Armin. I trained with you, remember? I know your weak points.” he replied, pulling with his legs to yank on the blond’s wings and prove a point.  
“I know yours too.” the blond argued.  
  
Armin went quiet immediately after, evidently concentrating, and Eren’s grip on his wings slipped as they disappeared under him. Eren hadn’t had the concentration to do that to when Levi had used the hold on him, but Armin wasn’t having that problem and getting out of the hold easily as Erens legs fell from his back. He was up and gone in seconds, rolling sideways and then getting up in the air with a quick sweep of his wings. Levi watched his progress in to the air as he hovered, Eren quick to move with outstretched fingers that just missed the blond’s ankle. He then had to rapidly dodge backwards as Armin used the wall as a kick-off point to flip himself over and try to kick him in the back. It was the start of a long gap in any serious contact as Armin dodged while taking odd chances to strike back and Eren pursued him, trying to think of a way to get him down that wasn’t going to be fatal. Both of them could only stay in the air for so long, however, their wings quickly tiring. Levi knew this as he moved around the room observing, his own wings on the edge of materialising to take him in to the air to break up the fight if needs be.  
  
Armin landed first, quickly pitching himself into a backward roll in order to avoid Eren hitting the floor, and he skidded to a stop balanced up on one knee, smirking. He knew how to hurt Eren the most, could make him lose his focus completely in a matter of a few sentences… but it would hurt. He didn’t want to. He wasn’t really concerned about getting hurt himself, it was more that he already knew what came after as far as Eren was concerned because he’d seen it once before. He didn’t want to be the cause of that.  
But he had to, otherwise this whole morning would go to waste, and he wanted Eren to get back to hunting. He couldn’t do that unless Levi got what he wanted from both of them.  
  
“Don’t be a disappointment, Eren.” the brunet came skidding to a stop just in front of him, and from the pained look on his face he knew exactly what Armin was trying to do. Because he knew it would work. Armin knew just how to kick him when he was down. Silent, he shoved him into the wall behind them instead, green eyes flickering with regret as Armin flinched and he was only just aware of Levi moving on the periphery to keep a closer eye on them. “You do it often enough as it is. Couldn’t even last two hunts before you fucked up again.”  
“Don’t.”  
“Then  _beat me_. It’s not that hard. Have you got  _worse_  than you were as a trainee?”  


“Armin.” With that one word alone, he could hear that Eren was on the verge of snapping, could sense it. He moved in closer to the pair, wishing he'd got his own knives about his person, just in case. He didn't want to have to use them, but they would be a nice reassurance.   
“What? Prove me wrong. If you don’t you’re deliberately wasting time, and there’s only two people that insults. Two dead people your whining does nothing to help.  
  
Eren moved so quickly he almost missed it, and before he knew it, Armin was shouting in pain as red filled Levi's vision.  _'Shit shit shit'_  was the only words running through his brain as his body acted on its own, before his brain could catch up.   
  
In the next moment, his hands had grabbed at the back padded support of Eren's harness on either side of his shoulder blades and yanked harshly, throwing him off and to the mat. He was on Armin a second later, batting the blond’s hands away. "No, don't. Let me. This will hurt." Armin nodded a little looking away. Levi really didn't want him pulling the knife out himself, afraid if he caught anything then the damage may be more than needed. He pulled it out slowly, soon throwing it away. "Hold it, it'll stop the bleeding." He briefly saw Armin do as instructed before he was at Eren's side where he was scooted away to almost the edge of the mat, back facing the door. "Eren? Eren look at me." He got a brief second of eye contact before it was gone, the teens wings shivering along with his body as Eren's forehead hit his knees. Eren's thighs were by his hips, Levi kneeling close by to him, but making sure not to touch him and to give him space. He knew what was happening this time, he thought it'd be easier to talk to the teen down than before. Before he'd just confused him, no... He needed to  _reassure_  him, it had been Armin after all, and not himself. "Armin, move. Please." He heard Armin get up, feet shuffling on the mat, only to see him pass them both, giving them a wide birth as he moved past, standing out of Eren's line of sight and out of the way and behind him.  
  
"Eren, stay with me, just breathe for me."  
"I can't. Can't breathe."  
"Of course you can," his voice dropped low, taking on a somewhat soothing tone, "you're doing it now, but you sound a little too quick.."  
"Of course... I do.. its a fucking panic attack... Oh god.. I didn't.. didn't want.. I fucking knew this would happen.."  
"I can see what you're having, Eren, but there is no need, really. Armin is fine, he's up and walking." He glanced to Armin behind Eren, moving as he looked back to the teen next to him to sit crossed legged. "All that you need to do is take deep breaths." He wasn't particularly good at this, but he didn't want to confuse him in this state like he had before. He had a feeling that that wasn't going to cut it this time round. Purely because of the fact it was his best friend that he'd ended up hurting, when he'd expressly promised him he wouldn't let that happen. He really hadn't been expecting Eren to move and react as quickly as he did. He needed to channel Hanji’s advice as best he could.  
  
"Why.. why can I never.. just fucking.." Levi could see full well that Eren was trying to do as he suggested, but unable to keep the rhythm going long enough for it to stick. "How am I supposed to be useful to anyone like this?!"   
"That's not true. You’re very useful." He wanted nothing more than to just rest a hand on the others shins, his knee maybe, but he knew that that might set Eren off more.   
"I didn't stop. How am I supposed to be trusted to hunt if  _I can't stop_."  
"Because you learn. Because you get better at it. You will know when to stop. You stopped last time all by yourself and I am rather proud of you for that."   
  
It wasn't often that he admitted such things, but right now, it was appropriate, and rather true. After seeing this, he knew that even though it was him, it had probably taken a lot of restraint to pull himself out of it, and that it was a feat all in itself. Armin meant more to him, hands down, which was probably why he'd become so lost, and no doubt he own words had played on Eren's mind about a grounded Nephilim was a dead one. If it had been before that, Eren probably wouldn't have gone so far.  
  
"Never done that before. I only stop when they're dead.. and I nearly.. was going to.." He didn't speak as he paused, waiting to see if Eren continued, which he did, the words slightly muffled as he'd seen an arm move to undoubtedly cover his mouth with his hand. "Thanks. For getting there first."  
"It speaks wonders that you were able to and you'd never done it before, Eren, really. I will be there first for as long as you need me to. I mean that most sincerely."   
"Okay. Feels a bit better now."  
"Are you sure? If you are better, how about lifting your head to give that mouth of yours space to breathe perhaps?  
"Maybe in a minute. Just make sure Armin's okay. I'll be fine."  
"I know for a fact that he is perfectly fine, Eren." He glanced to him regardless, the blond nodding in his direction, clearly wanting to keep doing what he was doing. The Nephilim's healing ability would be kicking in slowly, and there was no blood on the floor, so the wound had already stopped bleeding thanks to the pressure that Armin was putting against the wound. He'd be better still, once he got to the medical bay.  
  
"I'm fine. Really. Just fine. He's the one.. bleeding.. fuck.."  
"He's not bleeding Eren, I swear. He's fine. He might not look it but he's a tough cookie. Don't forget I’ve hunted with him." He could see Eren starting to get worse again at the thought of Armin bleeding still, and he didn't want that to happen now he was making progress in pulling himself out of the attack.  
"I remember that. You scared the fuck out of him."  
"That's the stunning effect I normally have, kid. You are the shining exception."  
"Yeah. I'm the only person around here stupid enough to try scaring you off instead." He smirked looking to the mat in front of his folded legs, hands resting back behind him as he shuffled forwards slightly, the side of his arm touching Eren's knee lightly, so casually it was barely there.  
  
"I do hope you aren't still trying to scare me off though kid, that'd be a such an annoying stack of paperwork I wouldn't want to do." It was tedious the amount of paper you had to fill out when someone signed off of partnering with you. It was ridiculous beyond reason.  
"If I was, we wouldn't be here. I can't hate someone who's too fucking nice to me.."  
"Hey, I'm a saint, remember?"  
"What?!"  
"Well, apparently..." He gained a smirk as he leant back on his hands more, "I'm a 'cute grumpy saint,' according to drunken you from Friday morning at 3:30AM."  
"Fuck my life.. I don't remember any of that.." His eyes were drawn away from Eren's, now he’d finally got the teen to look up from his knees and a hand uncovering his mouth. They redirected up to the high ceiling, a smirk thoroughly across his lips.  
"It was adorable, Jaeger, have to admit."   
"Shit. I'm never drinking that much again if that’s the kind of thing I come out with."  
"It wasn't that bad. You did take forever to get your damn shoes off though."  
"Wasn't that bad? Eh, to be honest I'm more shocked that I apparently called you cute and you didn't hit me."  
"You were too drunk to be able to be hit. You looked like a little defenceless lost puppy as it was." His head swung to the side, rolling on to his shoulder slightly, his eyes looking back to Eren's, smirk not to wide now, but still present on his face.  
  
"I take offense at that." he groused, hugging his knees a little tighter as his wings drooped from around his shoulders, noticeably relaxing now, still resolutely keeping his eyes shut. "I'm not a lost puppy except when I want something."  
  
"Well you clearly wanted  _something_ , that's for sure." Given the way that the teen had hugged him from behind to try and stop him getting off the sofa to go to bed, calling him cute, nicer than people knew, Eren would clearly not have protested getting a little something something..  
"I was drunk, you're kinda hot. It happens."  
"Just 'kinda hot'? Gee. Thanks."  
"You know what I meant."  
"That I'm subpar in the level of hotness..."  
  
He knew he was teasing, damn well knew he was teasing, smirk thoroughly in place as he cast his gaze back towards the ceiling. It was avoiding Armin's gaze for the specific reason that the mushroom wouldn't have seen this side of him. It was reserved for the likes of Hanji and Erwin. Even though Eren was pushing against those barriers, currently, he still wasn't quite there yet. Levi himself felt uncomfortable with it, but after calling Eren down, he wanted to keep him that way. His brain was quite looking forwards to going back to blankness. Even if it was in a sly, smirking way, and not laughing and smiling way, it still made him feel too uncomfortable to think about.  
  
"Well your competition has decided to throw in the towel, so it doesn’t matter if you’re subpar.” he replied, just about able to return the playful smirk with one of his own. “At this point you already won me over.” Levi's smirked lessened at the news that Eren and Jean were not together anymore, if that's what the teen was meaning about competition. He unfolded his legs slowly, moving to stand, dusting himself off and looking to Eren watching him,   
"Well, don't get too attached, kid."   
  
He extended a hand slowly, offering to help Eren too his feet now he was sufficiently calmed to a point where he could hopefully stand. "You're free to go for today, unless you want to continue??"  
"I'll be fine. The only way I'm going to get past this is practice."  
"Sometimes too much practise can be a bad thing, Mr Jaeger." Levi looked towards the doorway, releasing Eren's hand once he was stood on his feet. Erwin was walking through the large, open wooden doors, looking around as casual as Levi did.  
"Commander."  
"Lance Corporal. I heard you were training this morning." By who and why he'd heard, he honestly wasn't going to ask.   
"When did my training with Jaeger become your concern?" Levi's posture had become tense the second that Erwin had addressed him by his title. His arms folded across his chest, the majority of his weight shifting to his right leg.  
"Mr Jaeger, Mr Arlett, would you be so kind as to give us some privacy? I'm sure the Lance Corporal will be able to reschedule the rest of your session."  
  
It took a minute or so, of Eren looking between them, before he nodded and collected his things, grabbing Armin’s as well and heading out the door. Erwin looked around the room for a moment, before looking to Levi as he sighed. "Is there a reason you sent them both away?"  
"One needs medical attention and the other doesn't need to be here while I speak to you."  
"Could this not have waited? I was a little busy. You know, giving all my attention and focus to the kid."  
"I know, and I am glad to see you taking an interest in him, but why, Levi? He's made it clear on multiple occasions that he doesn't want to hunt with you."  
"Seriously? It’s like you don't know me at all." Erwin waited patiently as Levi paused, seeing if the older male would comment. When he didn't, he continued, "Because I won’t stand for being dropped when the kid doesn't even realise how good he is." He unfolded his arms, heading towards the side, collecting his jacket and going for his shoes.   
"I'm not done, Levi."  
"I sure as hell am. You can't just waltz in here like this anymore. I don't care what your rank is. You said you were going to give me space and not interfere."  
"And I am, but that boy isn't doing you any favours. You might be helping him work through his own issues, his anger, but yours sure as hell isn't going anywhere, anytime soon." Levi turned around as the man spoke, dropping his jacket back down carefully on to the bench. He hadn't even got as far as his shoes. "I'm here to help."  
"Seriously?" Erwin nodded as Levi stepped forwards a few steps. "You never spar."  
"I will for you." Erwin began to slip his boots off, the male wearing his harness over his casual clothing. It was something he clearly intended to be doing from the get go.  
  
Erwin stood, his arms widespread to his sides, their eyes locking as Levi stood a few meters away. "I'm not going to attack you, Erwin." The stance was changed so quickly, Levi barely had chance to raise his arms to block the incoming assault as Erwin initiated the activity. Levi was forced backwards quickly, his footwork second nature, trusting it to keep him upright, and failing that, his wings would pick up the slack. Not that either mans wings were out right now, nor would they be for some time.  
  
It didn't take long for Erwin’s relentless assault to piss him off enough to force the man on to the defensive. Levi's quick and low attacks pushing him back towards the middle of the room. It was clear he was holding back though, as Erwin got the upper hand easily, grabbing his wrist and twisting him so his back hit his chest, hard. His other hand came up to enclose around his other wrist, holding Levi's arms crossed against his chest. "Either you've lost your touch, or for some reason you're holding back on me.."  
"I've not lost my touch."  
"Then quit being a child and stop holding back on me." Levi dropped down, his wrists ending up being twisted above his head, and a quick pull and a tug later his hands were free and soon enclosing on Erwin's wrists, pulling violently from where he sat down on the floor. It caused the man to fall forwards, rolling with a thud and moving himself in to a standing position.   
  
Levi did the same, Erwin soon rushing him again, the smaller male dodging with ease. Neither of them had any weapons, Eren having taken the blade he'd pulled on Armin, so there were no weapons in the room to aid either of them in harming the other. A quick slide of his foot across the mat sent Erwin falling backwards, though a quick roll sideways once he had and a pull at Levi’s ankle, soon meant he was trapped underneath a solid body, holding him to the mat. "Definitely lost your touch,  _Corporal._ " Breath ghosted across his ear and he was left to fight his eyes fluttering closed. Thankfully he stopped them, eyes on Erwin's shoulder and his hands came to rest there gently.   
  
The hold was a familiar one, not unlike the one Eren had pulled on him in their first session. Definitely not unlike the holds Erwin would put on him quite frequently when they had been a couple. This kind of hold normally resulted in a form of exercise in a whole different way... A kiss would start it off, and his brain drifted to the last time it happened... and not with Erwin, but with Eren. How he'd carried it on out of habit and a small desire to see what the brat would do, to see if he'd run away from him. A moment passed by, the thoughts dissolving in his brain, telling his body he just wanted out of this conversation, and soon Levi shifted.   
  
His hips bucked, his hands tugged and his knees helped manoeuvre the blond from on top of him, to under him. Hand found the man’s elbows, pining his arms down at that point, looking down in to somewhat playful eyes. "I assure you, I have not. I just can't be doing with your bullshit right now. What gives you the right to stride in here like you still own me?"  
"I never owned you Levi, and I never will. I never intended to either, for the record."  
"You had no right, coming here today."  
"I run the place, Levi, of course I did."  
  
_"No."_  The word was stern, full of command that made Erwin pause. "You don't get to interfere with my life. Personal or professional. You promised to give me space and you haven't done that."  
"I didn't think you'd need so much..."  
"Of course I fucking would. What did you expect? That I didn't  _care?_  That I didn't give a shit about everything that happened between us? That’s not me, and you fucking know it!" Erwin lay there under him, taking the abuse that was being hurled his way with a soft smile, knowing that this was going to devolve in to a verbal fight, over a physical one. "You don't get to tell me you're ending it because you want me to give my attention and focus to somewhere else entirely and then come and  _interrupt_  it when I was doing just that!! No, that’s  _not_  how this works."  
"Would you rather I’d not come in here?"  
"I'd rather the brat was still here. At least I can teach him something useful, instead I’m here, fighting you when I should be sparring with him."  
  
"You need to open your eyes Levi, and stop being stubborn. Even I can see what’s going on."  
"Nothing is going on. It’s all in your head, Hanji’s too. _I need time_. I need time to get over you and you  _aren't helping._ "  
"I just want us to speak outside of the office, Levi, that’s it. I thought this would kick start that. That if you got these frustrations off your chest at last, you could move on.  _Both of us_ could move on." Levi got up hurriedly, face a mix of anger, annoyance and sadness.   
"You gave that up when you broke up with me... For now, at the very least." His fists were clenched as he watched Erwin stand, moving to put his boots back on slowly.  
"If you ever need to get out your frustrations, you know where I am."  
"Don't count on a call." Erwin turned and left there, panting heavily from their words and physical fight, Levi doing the same, standing for a few minutes in the centre of the room, just looking at the doorway, and was soon sat down on the bench, looking down to his barefoot, willing himself to put the boots on and go shower.  
  
The second Eren entered the room he moved to place his calf high boots on, beginning to lace them up when the teen sat beside him on the bench. He wasn’t quite sure why Eren was still hanging about, but he hoped beyond reason he'd been too busy listening to music to hear, given the headphones still around his neck. He began to lace up the second boot, face thoroughly a blank mask, as opposed to the saddened, annoyed expression he'd been wearing as Erwin left.  
  
He hated that man coming in here and ruining and breaking every wall he'd tried to put back in place. The blond knew just how to get past them with very little effort, and that worried him no end, right now.   
"Was he being an ass?" He finished lacing up his boot before leaning forwards on to his elbows, propping them on him knees, wrists crossed.  
"When is he  _not_  being an ass?" He shook his head minutely, looking back to his other side, fingers grabbing the collar as he pushed himself to stand. "You should probably go get some lunch before they stop serving." Levi, on the other hand, was heading straight for a shower. "Sorry for the session being cut short. But when the _Commander_  wishes it..."  
  
"It's understandable. He does have the run of the place, after all." It was clear just by his distinctly unimpressed tone that Eren was annoyed at the man in question, though, and that he was going to make precisely no excuses or apologies for it. "Not that that's any reason to come and interrupt anything for what looked like entirely not work-related reasons. Not very professional." Which was so hypocritical of him it was almost ludicrous for him to say, all things considered, but oh well.  
  
Pushing off the bench, he stretched again and stood up, taking a few steps to the door before sighing heavily. His mind wouldn't let him leave without voicing his opinion even if he knew it probably wouldn't matter very much in the long run.  
"He's not fucking you around, is he? Because that's not okay. I know you don't need a guard dog and I'm the last person you probably want to talk to about it.. but he knows you too well to have any excuse for it."  
  
"I don't, you're right. And you are more puppy dog than guard dog, kid." He smirked, throwing his jacket over his shoulders and heading past Eren and towards the door.

 

* * *

 

 

2 Weeks Later.  
  
"Sir, we've got to go to HQ."  
"No. I've already said I can't be doing with that."  
"You're  _injured._  It needs sorting out." Levi waved the freckled teen off him as he looked around at the dead bodies in front of them. Marco had fared well, but had left himself open to attack, thus, Levi had naturally stepped in to take the blow. He could feel the remnants of demonic aura licking at the edge of his healing ability, as it swarmed to his side to start the healing process.   
They'd been ambushed by a Legion attack, hell bent on taking him apparently or so one of the dead bodies before him mentioned before Levi sprung in to action to save Marco's life. "You can't go home like this, you won’t make it."  
"Have you called this in?" He spoke through gritted teeth as his hand reached around to press against his left side. The demon had managed to slice extremely close to the base of his wings during the scuffle that had ensued and it was bleeding profusely.   
"Yes, sir, but that’s not the point. You need medical attention."  
"I'll be fine, Bodt, seriously. It's supernatural damage. It'll heal on its own. I'm just glad you are alright.”  
“You didn't need to jump in front of me.”  
“I know that." He looked to the freckled, taller male and they shared a short stare, before Marco sighed, looking to the sky. “Didn’t stop me doing it though.”  
  
There was a pause between them as Marco took over pressing his hand against Levi’s side. As it were, Marco had been about to take a rather nasty wound to his right side, but Levi had seen it coming. He’d managed to pull Marco out of the way and take the brunt of the damage to his left side instead as his sword pierced the demons chest.   
  
"I was heading to Jean's after this."  
"Get going then, it was our last job anyway."  
"What I mean to say is, if you won’t go to HQ, then can you at least come with me? I don't want you going home alone with such a wound and Eren lives in Jean's building." Levi thought about it for a minute or two before nodding, wings beating against the air and following Marco to their destination.  
  
Eren, after all, wouldn't force him to go to HQ to get himself seen to. He'd help, if anything, given his medical training in his previous life. He just hoped that the teen could remember such training.  
They landed on the roof, Marco quick to move to Levi's right hand side, holding him up carefully as he swayed on his landing. He could feel the latent licks of demonic  aura against his brain and he closed his eyes to try and clear his head with a few deep breaths, allowing Marco to lead him down stairs.  
  
They were soon outside a door, Marco knocking as Levi leant into the hold round his waist. The door opened and he was met by a rather bright looking Eren Jaeger.   
"The fuck happened?"  
"He refuses to go to HQ. I suggested you as an alternative to save him going home in such a condition. You were closer." Levi pulled away, glaring, or trying to, at Eren's legs as hands ushered him in.  
"Get the fuck in." Levi stumbled his way in, Marco soon joining him back at his side and helped him towards the barstools that served as seats for Eren and whoever to eat their dinner from.  
Levi accepted the help begrudgingly, sliding up and on to the stool furthest away from the wall, his wings vanishing slowly as he did so, leaning forwards heavily on to the breakfast bar. "The hell happened?" Eren had reappeared with a first aid kit in hand, apparently reiterating his question since it hadn’t been answered fully enough the first time.  
"We were ambushed. Legion, they wanted to take him. Put up a stunning fight though. He got injured saving my life."  
"Get gone, Bodt, I’m pretty sure if you were meeting Jean, he'll be worried by now." Levi's voice was strained, quiet as he leant forwards on to his forearms, his arms folded on top of its surface as his eyes slid closed.  
  
“Go, Marco. He’ll be fine.” Eren instructed, his tone friendly but not leaving any space for argument just the same. “Let Jean take care of you.” Levi watched as Marco looked at him, then Eren, then followed the gentler version of Levi telling him to hurry up and get out the apartment already. The door closed, and then Eren was rounding on him. “Right. Get these off, I need to see what I’m patching up.” Eren’s focus homed in on the wound he was supposed to be treating and the shift in perspective showed, his stance clear and calm.  
  
With little other than a raised eyebrow and slow movements from the hand that wasn’t keeping pressure on the wound in order to help him, the two of them worked to get through taking off the clothing shielding Levi’s upper half – jacket folded and placed over the back of the sofa, soaked red shirt deposited on the counter top as Eren made fast work of unclipping and removing the top half of the harness so that he could get access to the area he was dealing with.  
“Give me a pain rating from one to ten, I need to know how much feeling you still have around the cut. You must have gone into shock by now.”

“Four.” He had a heck of a lot of feeling around the area and he felt this question was pointless. Eren just needed to get on with it.  
“Alright. Now a real one.”  
“Still four. Maybe five. Hurry your ass up, Jaeger, this hurts.” He watched Eren move around the breakfast bar and towards the sink, his eyes having opened when Eren had asked him how much pain he was in. As he filled a bowl and got a cloth, his eyes felt heavy, hell his whole body was beginning to feel heavy. Grey eyes went to his forearms, barely even noticing Eren come back round behind him and begin to sort his back out.   


His touch was better than most of the medical staff back at HQ, bar Hanji herself who was slightly iffy when it came to treating him. It all depended on her mood with him, that governed how gentle she was going to be. Thinking about Hanji, and how pissed she was going to be when she realised he'd not gone to HQ for help, meant his eyes drifted closed again, and he was brought out of his thoughts by Eren placing a shot glass down on to the surface in front of him. At least so far, Eren was gentle if a bit firm in his touches across his skin. "This is going to sting like a bitch, so you may as well." All he gave was a nod, fingers reaching out somewhat shakily to take hold of the shot glass, knocking it back without hesitation and placing it back down carefully.  
  
Levi shifted forwards as the alcohol drenched cloth pressed against the wound, causing him to hiss and lean forwards, eyes closing again. 'Sting' was an understatement. But it wasn't until Eren had finished bandaging his torso that he opened his eyes again, vision swimming slightly as he felt hands rest on his shoulders.   
  
He felt a surge of energy rush through him and his body twitched as it happened, feeling the demonic aura clinging to him be pushed out completely, feeling like himself again, but still somewhat lethargic and extremely shaky still. “You’re done.” Hands slid from his shoulders and he swivelled the chair round slowly, to face the teen resting against the counter next to him. “You’ll be okay.”   
"You didn't have to do that kid, it will have... cleared... on its own." He was struggling with his speech slightly, his body feeling like it wanted to topple sideways and just sleep for the next century.   
"Don't give me that, you nearly bled out. Why the hell did you fly here? You could have got someone to come to you from HQ."  
"No one’s 'fetching' me." Levi's voice became somewhat harsh, or at least tried to as he looked to Eren's chest, away from his face. "I can fly myself."  
"And what if you'd passed out while flying? Your pride won't stop you dying from that kind of fall."  
"Marco was there. He'd... have caught me." He trusted the freckled teen enough to know that he would have caught him if he needed to be caught as he passed out mid-flight. Hell, Marco had made sure to keep him within eye sight at all times on the way here, and below him in terms of height, just in case he needed to swoop sideways to catch him. Then he definitely wouldn't just be him and Eren here, Marco would have contact Hanji to get to Eren's apartment. To be honest, he'd probably still be on the roof.  
  
"And if he didn't? You're too important to.. people. Besides, it's not me you have to worry about, Hanji's going to bust something when she finds out."  
"I can... I can deal with her..."   
  
He pushed away, swivelling the chair so that he could stand. He didn't get far though, as he fell sideways in to the counter as he stood, his vision swimming considerably as he swayed felling a chest against his back and hands against his hips. "Get off, I can walk."  
  
“Yeah yeah, I know.”  
  
As Eren blatantly ignored him after agreeing that he could do it on his own, he gave in, letting the teen hook an arm around him and guide him through his apartment. He should be grateful, over anything else right now and it was starting to kick in that over the stubbornness and frustration that he'd got hurt. He was extremely thankful for Eren not calling HQ, or sending him on his way he second he'd patched him up enough that he could move. He definitely wasn't going to be flying home tonight at this rate.   
  
Levi let himself be helped to sit, Eren detaching himself from him and standing in front of him. "Now you don’t have to walk. Just stay there while your head stops swimming.” As Eren retreated, he looked around, blinking his eyes rapidly as he realised he was sat on a bed. He shouldn't be in here, he should have been put on the sofa, even if the bed did feel rather comfy. He looked around at it and sighed, pushing himself up. He didn't want to be in the way for when Eren ultimately needed to go to bed, he didn't want him opting for the sofa purely because he was lain out on his bed. he made it as far as the door, backtracking on the progress to him sitting down they'd just made, leaning heavily against the doorframe as he heard frantic footfalls towards his direction.  
  
“Where the fuck d'you think you're going?" He didn't even get chance to answer being pushed back to the bed and then pushed down by his shoulders. "Lie down. Your blood pressure needs to get back to normal." He couldn't exactly not comply, given that he had been pushed back by his shoulders, staying where he was with his harness still gathered at his waist, his boots still on his feet as Eren held his gaze with an unusually strict expression.  
"Fine, but I'm not sleeping here. I'll sleep on the sofa or something."  
"Yes you are, I have a sleeping bag so I'll be fine. It's either sleep here, or I'm letting Hanji take you to HQ for the night, so you're better off letting me help." He groaned in response, lifting his arms slowly to press his hands against his face. As much as he knew that Eren wouldn't call Hanji, he didn't want to take the chance of him actually doing it.   
  
"Whatever. I could just take the sleeping bag if you won’t let me sleep on the sofa." He slid his hand from his face as he spoke, looking to the dark ceiling. Levi knew full well that if he were left here for a short space of time and not spoken to or bothered, he'd fall right to sleep anyway.  
"Nope. You're having my bed. One night isn't going to kill me and I probably wouldn't have slept anyway." He rolled his head carefully so that he could look at Eren properly through the darkness.  
"Why would you not have slept?"  
"I get nightmares."  
  
Then he certainly wasn't helping, all bandaged up and previously macabre by showing up at Eren's front door covered in blood and being supported by one Marco Bodt. The damage was clearly already done for nightmare fuel, but no way in hell was he making that worse. "Then I’m just going to make it worse by... being here... in this state..." As he spoke, he shifted so that he was upright, head heavy with an oncoming headache and managed to swing his legs over the bottom of the bed, scooting away from Eren slightly in the process. His words were still strained now that he was back to moving about, his breath alone telling him that he was in no fit state to fly.  
"If I have to sit on you to keep you lying down I will do." as hands pulled his shoulders again to pull him back to down, he resisted it, trying to shrug Eren's hands off and failing miserably. "Don't make me play the 'let’s freak out Lance Corporal Levi' game again."  
"Because that ended so well for you last time, kid..."  
"I don't care how it ends if it means you're okay again. You nearly.. I'm fucking anxious enough right now, okay? Just  _please_  stay there. It's only for one night."  
  
He didn't want Eren to being feeling such a way, not by his hand first and foremost, so he nodded, looking to him but still not lying back down, "can you at least help me out of this harness and get my boots off? And I'm pretty sure.. if I lie on my front.. there will be blood all over your bed thanks to my trousers having blood on the front." He saw Eren nod, heading to his wardrobe to get him clean clothes and soon kneeling to help take his harness off.  
“Alright. As long as you make sure you get a decent night’s sleep.”  
  
He watched Eren leave the room, pulling the close towards him, leaving his harness in a heap on the floor to save him bending down. His trousers soon joined them, as he carefully took off his socks and pulled on the pyjama bottoms. The shirt was next, wincing slightly at the ache and pain that shot through him. The skin might have closed, but the wound was still very much there, under his skin. He could still feel where the blade had entered and sliced his skin open as it was dragged out by the demon. He sat down once he was fully clothed, happy for the clean feeling, he looked down at his hands, buried by the too-long sleeves of Eren’s shirt, his fingers poking out the ends as he rested them against his thighs. He didn’t want to be an inconvenience by being here. He and Eren didn’t exactly get on fully, if he were honest. It seemed like it was hit and miss with each interaction, even if they’d been getting on a lot better lately.   
  
Levi didn’t protest when Eren tugged him tentatively on to his back again. He didn’t have the strength in him to protest, and he was just happy Eren wouldn’t be laying on the floor all night. A hand soon dragged through his hair, fingers pulling gently at the strands. It made him tense slightly as it happened, swallowing reflexively as his eyes looked towards the door.  
 "What are you doing, brat?"as he spoke, his hand moved to slide up and around Eren’s wrist tostop the movement in its tracks. After a moment or two, he reconsidered, it was always something that made Levi fall asleep. No matter how awake he was, what he was doing, he would be asleep extremely fast whenever it was done to him. He was thankful when Eren didn't stop.

"Helping, sir." Eren replied, clearly back to his routinely more formal manner of address now he wasn't so worried about his safety. "I'll stop if you like."  
"Don't care either way." Levi's brain was still fuzzy, but he could feel his body returning to normal, or as normal as it was for a Nephilim having lost quite a bit of blood.   
  
As his brain slowed down, breathing starting to even out, he turned on to his side, head facing Eren, a hand near to his face, happy he'd moved when he'd got changed so that his head was resting on the pillows at the top of the bed. He still felt somewhat bad, that Eren had elected not to use his bed but a sleeping bag, and allow him to sprawl as much as he was able on the bed. But that thought was soon pushed out of his mind as he fell asleep all at once, his body going heavy on the side of the bed the covers weren't covering, Eren having moved them before he laid down fully, with the teen sat next to him, falling asleep to the gentle touch of fingers dragging through his hair.  


 

 

  
He woke, aching like a _bitch_. His whole body felt like it was hurting, but the point in his back was hurting most of all. Every time he breathed in he had to cut the breath short, quick to take shallow breaths to stop the pain that came with breathing normally. Levi opened his eyes slowly, blinking awake to find himself snuggled under the covers of a bed that wasn't his own. It took him a few moments to realise where he was and why, a hand going to his side to find the bandages still firmly in place.  
  
He blinked blearily, sitting up slowly, wincing at the closed wound under the gauze, but it was still incredibly tender and sore. At least he knew the blood loss he suffered was somewhat replenished and sorted, but he had a killer headache.  
There was a sleeping bag on the floor along with one of the pillows from the bed, light seeping through the closed curtains, the door wide open. He wanted nothing more than to fall back down and sleep, snuggled up in the blankets and duvet and sleep the day away, but the sound of Eren moving about caught his attention.   
  
He slipped his feet over the edge of the bed, the pajama pants barely staying up, choosing instead just to slip them off, the oversized shirt long enough to cover his black boxer briefs, it ending mid-thigh. Hell if it was this big on him it must be slightly too big for Eren, the sleeves covered his hands completely, Levi pushing them up slightly, right hand reaching across his front to press at where his injury hand been under the shirt, only a few of the middle buttons done up to keep it round him. "Jaeger?"  
  
He saw Eren sat on the countertop, moving to slide himself on to the barstool at the high table. “Morning, sir. Did you want some coffee? Pain meds?”  
"I can't stomach coffee." If he were honest, the freshly made smell was making him slightly nauseas. "Stuff to help with the pain would be good though. Even if they aren’t non-drowsy." He leant forwards onto the counter after swivelling his chair, onto his elbows, one hand falling flat onto the countertop. The other ran across his face as he blinked sleepily while Eren slid from the counter, landing on to his feet.   
  
He could just go back to bed. Without a care in in the world and sleep the day and night away and wake up tomorrow. He hated feeling so tired and lethargic, so run down thanks to how much blood he'd lost yesterday. It was obviously the reason he was still in pain. He'd no doubt be bruised under the bandages binding his stomach and part of his chest.   
  
Once a glass of water was placed in front of him with three pills, he wasted no time at all downing them one at a time, then the remainder of the water, Eren taking the empty glass from him. "I'm not interrupting any plan by being here, am I?"  
"Not unless you count lazy daytime TV as a plan, no."  
"Mind if I join you in that? I am in no state to fly home."  
"I don't mind." he replied, shrugging as he pulled off the fluffy blanket he usually left lying over his sofa and then settled himself in place, patting the cushions beside him. "Stay as long as you like."   
  
He moved across to Eren's sofa, sitting down next to him carefully, still only wearing the teens oversized shirt to cover him, so he accepted the blanket around his shoulders before he shuffled away slightly, bringing it around him more tightly. His eyes redirected to the show that Eren put on after opening Netflix, barely taking it in as he curled up next to the other in the middle of the sofa. His feet were up and under the blanket, his head resting against the back rest as his eyes started to become more and more sluggish at opening and closing.   
  
The fact that Eren left him to it, show after show, keeping quiet and only laughing in regards to the TV, was working wonders for him not being able to keep himself awake. Levi kept on moving, every now and then to try and stop it happening. But he was warm and comfy and feeling groggy and dizzy and just wanted to sleep, to let the drowsiness take his mind to a blissful, dreamless sleep.   
It didn't take long, around 2 hours, for his eyes to finally slide close and stay that way, curled up next to Eren, but with a slight gap between them, not having wanted to get in the teens space.   
  
His breathing evened out quickly, though was still slightly on the shallow side still as he snuggled closer to the leather of the sofa, legs and arms scooted further under the blanket to hoard the warmth from it a little more as he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr under the name Firanna :)  
> Will be following the tag= fic: white wings


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